The Spirals World War I
by Caitlin-Silver
Summary: Past AU/Set before Ambrose is Headmaster. The worlds of the Spiral have fallen into chaos as a war breaks out between Wizard City and Avalon. With alliances present, it brings even more worlds into the war, creating catastrophic consequences. Avalon's Queen refuses to back down, vowing to destroy Wizard City. Can James and Cheryl keep Wizard City safe? Rated T/OC Submissions closed
1. Prologue

As you can see I've changed my user name! I don't know about it yet but we'll see how it works. Anyway...New Story time! I know, I should be working on Best Summer Ever or Abandoned. However, I am having writers block at the moment so those stories are on Hiatus for a bit. Not going to be canceled though, I assure you.

I've always had this idea. Like, for a long time now! We talked about World War I a lot in my history class last year. It got me thinking about doing this; The Spirals World War I. Why one? Because; there may or may not be a sequel with the new world Khrysalis in it. It all depends on how this story turns out. And I mean in the sense if you guys like this or not.

So I am going to need OC's for this story. They won't be major, unless they are a ruler of one of the spiral worlds. Right now, the worlds in need of a ruler, king, queen, etc. are; Krokotopia, Mooshu, Zafaria, and Azteca. I might add Wysteria but it's a small world. Besides this story is way in the past, before even Ambrose is born, so I don't think I'll include it. You never know though!

For more information regarding the worlds and such, go to my profile and scroll to the bottom of the page. You'll see the leaders of the worlds, alliances, enemies, etc.

So send in your OC and tell me what position you're looking for! The information I need is located at the bottom of my profile page!

–_Caitlin-Silver_

**Prologue**

James let an aggravated sigh escape from his lips; Avalon had done it again. They had broken yet another one of their treaty agreements. Ever since the treaty had been established from the first war they had with them, they had done nothing but break the rules. They were not allowed to trade goods with Azteca but they had been doing it anyway. He was getting tired of their petty Queen. She could give less of a care for his stupid treaty rules. The only reason she signed it in the first place was because there had been swords pointed at her from every which way; they had been lucky to capture her in the first place.

He had to do something about this whole treaty business and he had to get it taken care of soon. He had reason to believe there was an alliance between Avalon and Azteca; they had been doing a lot of business ever since the war. It was a little worrying too, since the Queen of Avalon had family in Azteca who held a bit of power of there. They could be planning something against Wizard City.

James thought back to the Queen's vow of vengeance. She had promised to destroy Wizard City and anyone else standing in her way should they try. The redhead knew it was no empty threat either; Caitlin was not one to make empty promises.

_Flashback-_

_Icy blue eyes glared into the Wizard City's leader as she begrudgingly signed the treaty. Looking into her peripheral vision, she noticed several swords aimed at her by what use to be old friends; Sean, Cheryl, Malorn, and even James pointed one at her. She couldn't refuse signing to damned treaty if she wanted to live. So, she signed it._

_When she was done signing it, she rolled it up non-to-gently and practically threw it at James. "I hope that satisfies you."_

_He picked it up and threw it in a pack that was hung over his shoulder. He said nothing for a while as he glared at her. Finally, he spoke, "I suppose it does. You're free to go; Molly is here to pick you up."_

_The Queen stood up abruptly and walked towards the door leading from the room. Before she was completely out of it, she turned her head and gave one last menacing glare. "You mark my words, petty ruler of Wizard City. This isn't the end of us; I will attack your precious city once more and this time you won't be as lucky as capturing me. You'll all die for this."_

_She wasted no time in leaving them. James thought for a moment at her words until Malorn spoke up, "Should we go after her? We can't very well let her threaten us."_

_James shook his head, "No, it doesn't matter. It's just an empty threat; what can she do anyway?"_

_End Flashback-_

How he wished those words were from an empty threat. James felt like a fool for letting her go. At least he could have kept her prisoner. Then again, she had used to be a good friend of his until it was discovered that she was part of the Royal Lineage of Avalon. That had been her downfall. When she went away for those six years, she had changed from her fiery and stubborn self, to a cold and dark person who was hell bent on ruling everything and everyone. There was something he couldn't understand, though, and that was how she had actually become Queen. When she went away, she had only been the Princess. It was a little confusing.

"James?"

The stunned male turned his head to see Cheryl with a worried look on her face. The blue haired woman approached him and hugged him from behind as he turned his head back and stared at the papers on his desk. "You okay? You've been hold up in here for the past day and a half."

He tried his best to smile for his wife but it didn't come so easily. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been worried a little over the Avalon business."

Cheryl raised a brow. "You've been worried over that? Sean and Malorn have been looking in to it. You shouldn't worry yourself so much. Besides, your son has been wondering where you've been. At least go spend some time with him?" With that comment, she turned and walked out of the room.

James sighed and looked down at the papers on his desk once more. Maybe she was right; maybe he _should_ quit worrying so much. Sean and Malorn could handle it, no problem. It was just something he couldn't help but worry over though. The safety of Wizard City was of top priority to him; next to his family of course. If Wizard City was attacked then his family was being attacked. His son had barely turned four. What would he do if war actually did end up breaking out? Not to mention they had another child already on the way. James really hoped it turned out to be a girl. He always wanted to have a Daddy's little girl.

The door creaking open alerted James to another intruder; a head of fiery hair and dark blue eyes. His son. "Daddy? Why you still in here?"

Seeing his son made him genuinely smile, "Hey, Damian. Daddy's been busy on political matters; nothing you'd find interesting."

The boy looked crestfallen, "Oh. Can I sit with Daddy then?"

Standing up and walking over to the small child he said, "Sure." Picking Damian up, he walked out of his office and into the living room of his and Cheryl's two story house. It was nothing spectacular but they preferred it that way. Nice and cozy, just like they wanted it. Damian looked funny at his father. "I thought I was going to see you do po-wi-ti-call stuff, daddy."

James ruffled his curly hair, "Nah, you'd be falling asleep from boredom. Shall we go see mommy instead?"

Damian was really attached to his mother so he nodded his head vigorously. When the small boy wasn't with his father or using his magic, he was definitely with his mother. The small red head really enjoyed baking cookies with her the most or playing with their Unicorn, Seraphyna, out in the garden. "Oh wait, daddy. Mommy said she was going out for a bit. That's why she sent me into your private room."

James was a little shocked to hear this. Cheryl hadn't mentioned anything about this. Where could she have gone? "Did mommy say where she was going?" Damian put a finger to his chin in thought. A little after he shook his head, "No, I don't think so. Sorry, daddy."

"It's okay, not your fault. Go play with Seraphyna for a bit while daddy fixes some lunch, kay?" The little boy nodded and took off towards the garden while James went to the kitchen.

Seraphyna could hear the little human boy before he even appeared and she smiled to herself. "Well, if it isn't the young master. How are you today, Damian?"

Damian patted her head as she lowered it and giggled. "I'm good. Daddy is going to fix lunch since mommy went out. He told me to come and play with you while I wait."

The unicorn lowered herself until she was lying down and eye-to-eye with the young master. "I see; so Lady Cheryl has left. Does the young master know to where?"

Damian shook his head, "No, but she did say she was probably going to pick up some grow-sher...grow-sher-ease..."

The regal unicorn could tell he was struggling with his pronunciations. "It is pronounced 'groceries' my young master."

The young red head crossed his arms and gave a pouty face. "I knew that! I could have gotten it eventually. I just have a speech um-peda-mint."

Seraphyna laughed at this. "I believe you mean speech 'impediment'."

This only made him grumble even further, "Yeah, that."

Deciding not to talk about the importance of good speech any longer, Seraphyna offered to give Damian a ride around the garden, which he happily accepted. He had no trouble holding onto the Unicorn mare; he had ridden her many times before and was quite experienced enough. It was fun to ride the Unicorn around and sometimes his mommy even let him ride her around the Commons area near Ravenwood. Mommy had told him that the Commons area was a special place to her; particularly by the pond. She had told him that, that was where she had met his Daddy. Damian always liked to hear that story about how they met. There was a dragon in the story even, though his daddy always rolled his eyes when mommy told that part. He had no idea why.

"I miss mommy," the small child spoke suddenly, not even meaning it to slip out. Seraphyna heard this as she trotted carefully around the garden, stopping only to admire the flowers. "The young master misses Lady Cheryl?"

"Seraphyna, why do you call mommy Lady Cheryl?" Damian always wondered why he called her that instead of mommy. He called her mommy, so why didn't she? It was a curious thing and he wanted to know.

Seraphyna twisted her head and smiled at the boy. "It is because she is not my mother; she is my master. We have been friends for a very long time and it is only appropriate I call her so."

Damian gave a thought to this before saying, "Then wouldn't you call her your friend instead of master?"

Seraphyna never really thought of this herself. Turning back around she spoke, "I suppose you're right. You're quite smart for such a little thing, young master."

Damian smiled to himself before saying, "Hey! I'm not _that_ little, Seraphyna. I may not be big now, but I will be one day! Daddy told me so."

The Unicorn chuckled. "I'm sure he did, young master."

* * *

"This dress is rubbish, Lindsey. I demand a different one."

Lindsey bowed before taking her leave from the Queen's chambers, not bothering to say a word. The Queen had been stressed lately and even turned down her favorite dress. She was worried what would happen if she brought her another dress that was worse than the last one but she couldn't tell. The blonde haired girl wasn't exactly a fashion designer and only the Queen could decide what to wear. Lucky enough for her, Molly stepped in and handed her a dress that she was for sure the Queen would like. "Thanks, Molly. The Queen has been on edge lately and I don't know what to say or do."

Molly nodded in understanding. "I know. It's because of the treaty between Avalon and Wizard City. You know she's been illegally trading with Azteca. Well, it's illegal if we go by the treaty, but I am pretty sure she doesn't care about that."

Lindsey sighed and looked down at the silk dress sprawled in her hands. Molly was right; Caitlin was stressed over the treaty. She had heard her in her chambers the other night speaking of Wizard City but she hadn't been lucky enough to hear the entire conversation. She had heard the words 'invaid' and 'destroy' though. She was a little scared though. Lindsey really didn't want to go through another war; the last one ended barely three years ago. Avalon had finally been rebuilt last year and she didn't want more damage to befall their kingdom. However, the Queen's decision was final and she knew that she only had the best interest of Avalon in mind.

"Molly, if we do end up going to war... What will happen?"

The brunette said nothing and simply stared into the eyes of her friend. Shaking her head, she turned Lindsey around and pushed her, "Don't think about it. Just bring Caitlin her dress."

Lindsey stared for a moment before dumbly nodding and saying, "All right then."

When Lindsey got back, she saw the Queen pacing her room, a hand on her chin. It looked like she was in deep though. Her silvery hair sashayed behind her as she walked briskly, back and forth. The treaty must really be weighing on her mind, the blonde thought to herself. "Um, your Highness. I brought you a new dress."

The Queen stopped mid-stride and looked at the nervous racked Lindsey. "Oh, thank you. That shall do. Place it on my bed; I'll be changed in a minute. In the mean time, I want you and Molly to take this letter to Wizard City. Ask for James LionHeart." Caitlin handed Lindsey a white envelope that had been sealed and stamped with the Queen's Royal Symbol; a White Stag. It was definitely based on Caitlin's stag, Yuki. She had gotten Yuki from a trader in Mooshu before the world had turned against Avalon. However, Avalon held no ill-will for Mooshu. The only reason being that Caitlin had a soft spot for the place.

"Very well, your Highness. Shall you be requiring anything else?" Lindsey bowed as she waited for an answer. Caitlin shook her head, dismissing her.

Before Lindsey reached the door, however, Caitlin stopped her. "Be sure and return before the celebration tomorrow."

Lindsey spun around and bowed once more, "Of course, your Highness. Oh and," the silver haired Queen looked at her, "this matter is to be kept private, yes?"

"Of course."

"Very well."

* * *

Wiping his head, James smiled in victory; he had actually managed to make lunch without destroying the whole kitchen for once! Keyword being _whole._ Maybe he managed to make a mess, a small mess, but still a mess. Last time it looked like a war-zone and Cheryl had almost killed him for destroying her kitchen. Damian thought it was funny though and even mocked his father. "Daddy got in trouble with mommy!"

Of course, James would run out of luck today as Cheryl chose this moment to come home. "James, I'm home! I bro– !"

Busted, James thought. He was going to catch hell again. "You. What are you doing?!"

"Um," the red headed male rubbed the back of his head, searching for a believable answer. Nothing came to mind, so he simply opted for the truth. "Making lunch?"

Cheryl simply stared blankly at him before flicking her wand, making the kitchen come to life and quickly clean itself. A spatula managed to smack his head before floating back into the drawer where it belonged. If magic didn't exist he was sure he would be dead by now. "I've told you before, dear, I do the cooking. I don't trust you with kitchen utensils anyway, mmkay?"

James grumbled but walked over and stood beside her. "You know my cooking is good, though."

Cheryl didn't look at him but said, "I never said your cooking was horrible; it's the way you do it that's horrid. I don't appreciate you destroying my kitchen while I'm gone."

"Aww, come on Cher! I made spaghetti; you love spaghetti! Especially _my_ spaghetti!" He stepped behind her, grabbing her waist and digging his face into her blue hair. She said nothing. So he tried again, "Cheeeer~ Come on, speak to me!"

She sat down her cooking knife before detangling herself from him and turning around. He only tangled himself back up with her and this time she responded. "You're an idiot but I guess you're _my_ idiot."

He put his nose to hers and smiled. "But of course! You couldn't get through life without your idiot husband by your side~"

She grinned and playfully smacked his shoulder, "You really are ridiculous at times, James, I swear."

Nothing more was said and instead James opted to place his mouth over hers in a searing kiss. This was definitely overdue, he though. He had been so busy with work lately that he hadn't spent much time with his lovely wife and he was glad he decided to take a break. Of course, just as things were getting good, Damian walked in. "Mommy? Daddy? What are you guys doing? Gross!"

Cheryl broke away and looked down at her red headed son and smiled. "There you are, my little man. Were you outside with Seraphyna again?" She picked him up and rubbed her nose against his making him giggle. "Yeah. We were riding around the garden while we waited for daddy to finish lunch."

"I see! Did you have fun?" He nodded, smiling all the while. James ruffled his hair. "Yup! Oh, mommy, what did daddy make for lunch?"

Cheryl shot James a look, making him shrug with a smile, before saying, "Well, daddy made spaghetti. Mommy is going to make some nice garlic bread to go with that though. That sound good?"

"Yeah! I love mommy's garlic bread!" James had a playful hurt look, "Ouch. You don't love your daddy's spaghetti?"

"Oh. Yeah, daddy's spaghetti is nice to but I like mommy's garlic bread more."

Cheryl laughed at her son before placing him down in his chair. He really was the light of her life.

A half hour later and they were all gathered around the table enjoying their spaghetti and garlic bread. It seemed like their happy time together could last forever. It would be, however, that that moment would come to an end. A knock at the door alerted the small family of a visitor. "I wonder who it could be?" Cheryl said. James stood up, setting his napkin down. "I'll go see. You keep on eating, okay?"

Cheryl nodded, "All right."

They both hoped it wasn't what they thought it was. They prayed but they knew deep down it probably was.

James opened the door and was greeted by a familiar face and an unfamiliar one. "Molly? What are you doing here?"

The brunette had a forlorn look on her face. "James, you're a dear friend and I hate to give you this. I really, really do, but I cannot disobey my Queen. She's asked us to give you this declaration of war against Wizard City. I'm so sorry, James."

She held out a white envelope that was stamped with the Queen of Avalon's seal. His shaky hands grabbed it and slowly tore it open. He read it and it made his heart sink;

_Dear James,_

_ I hope this letter finds you well. I hear you have a family now; with my cousin no less. I almost regret doing this, especially since you have a son now, but I meant what I said all those years ago._

_ It is time for me to give my people what they want; vengeance. They have been seeking it ever since the last war. They weren't exactly what you'd called pleased with you taking me prisoner either. Not to mention you yourself killed my mother. Yes, my mother. The Queen prior to me had apparently been my mother. So you can stop asking yourself why I've suddenly become Queen._

_ Now onto what I've sent this letter for. I, Queen Caitlin the Second of Avalon, hereby make it official: War against Wizard City. And make no mistake, I will return the favor for what you did. I do look forward to it._

_Signed,_

_Queen Caitlin the Second_

He had killed her mother? No wonder he had thought it was Caitlin. He remembered killing a silver haired woman during the war when he had led a charge against an Avalon cavalry. He could have _sworn_ it was Caitlin but when he had taken a closer look, it wasn't her. The woman's eyes were a deep red color; Caitlin's was light blue. James had panicked when he thought it was her. Now it all made sense! He had killed the Queen and that was what made Caitlin their target afterwards; she had been made Queen. Maybe some of the supposed stuff Caitlin did were things her mother had done. Maybe, just maybe, he could talk sense into Caitlin. How would he do that, though? If he even step one foot in Avalon he would be dead meat.

"Molly, is there anyway I can change her mind?" James asked hopefully. Molly shook her head, a grimace evident in her features. The girl next to her shuffled with nervousness. Molly told her to keep calm and stop looking to scared. "Who's she?"

"Oh," Molly said, as if brought to a new light. "She's my friend, Lindsey. She's Caitlin's personal servant."

James nodded, "I see. Is she scared or something? She looks sick."

Lindsey blushed in embarrassment, "I apologize, sir. I-it's just...I've never been here and, well, Wizard City is an enemy to us."

As if a light dawned on him, he laughed. "Oh I see. You're scared we're going to kill you, or something. Right?"

Nodding slowly, he laughed again. This only seemed to increase her embarrassment. "No, no. We're not as barbaric as people from Avalon suggest us to be. We try to get along with everyone from the Spiral but, well, you know how that goes."

The red headed man's bright attitude must have made the blonde less warry because she let a laugh escape her lips. Molly smiled kindly at the pair. It had been a while since she heard Lindsey laugh, even though it was a small one.

It only made Molly hope that, somehow, the war could end before it even started.

**End Prologue**

Woot. I managed to hit my word goal. I wasn't even actually finished typing this either but I didn't want to go too far so I stopped here. Remember; I need OC's!

–Caitlin-Silver


	2. Act I

I've never felt so pumped for a story. I am so putting all my other stories on hold for now while I work on this one.

Anywho, thanks for your OC submissions! So far, all of them have been accepted and already have roles in the story. The biggest one so far is Eclipse, who belongs to BuBuWinter, since she is Queen of Krokotopia. It's been decided that Krok will be ruled only by Eclipse, no Pharaoh for it. I rather prefer it that way for myself anyway.

So Chapter one will basically be picking up where we left off and explaining some of the worlds reactions to the oncoming war between Avalon and Wizard City. They don't know it yet, but they're going to be pulled into it at some point or another.

It's important I have some more OC's sent in soon; I need leaders for Mooshu, Zafaria, and Azteca. I can't include them in this chapter because they, well, lack a leader. So I'd be grateful for some more! And yes, I could make OC's up for them, but where'd be the fun in that? I think people would rather have their own character in the story than just mine. That'd make it boring.

I tried to make it as lengthy as possible but it was kind of hard when you lack characters!

_All characters belong to their rightful and respectful owners. I claim no ownership except for my own characters._

–_Caitlin-Silver_

**Act I**

Aurora placed herself on the side of her King's chair as he sat, looking bored as usual. She said nothing which made him wonder what she was up to. She was faced the opposite direction; her looking at the back of the room and him facing the front. Liam was curious but he remained silent.

Staring sideways, he saw her blue eyes gazing at nothing in particular. "Avalon has declared war on Wizard City."

This caused him to break his reverie and look at her with a hardened gaze. "I see. So Caitlin has finally decided to make her move."

Aurora stood, making her sword, which was strapped against her thigh, cling against the stone of the throne. She began walking towards the front of the room, excusing herself, since she had only come to deliver the message. "By the way, Liam." Thankfully no one was in the room to hear her call him out so casually. She was the only one he would let call him that. Of course, it was restricted only to when they were alone and no one else was around. "What would you have Dragonspyre do? We are allies with Wizard City after all and Avalon is one of our enemies. Shall we help?"

Liam sighed; she was right. James didn't expect his help, he knew this to be true. Still, James and him went way back. It would be completely rude to just let him go to war with Avalon by himself. Avalon was a much bigger place and had many more occupants in it. It wouldn't be hard for them to destroy Wizard City. Not to mention the fact that Avalon was part of an alliance with Azteca and Celestia. The only he knew of the alliance was because of his army Commander: Aurora. Her past as a Pirate preceded her well and she was quite feared in Dragonspyre. Her brother, Max, was a close second to her.

"I suppose," he started, "I shall think on it."

She simply gave a small bow. "Very well. Shall I begin preparing the troops and take Max and myself to Wizard City?"

He nodded, eyes closed and hands crossed. She knew his answer before he even gave it. It looks like Dragonspyre was going to war. He smirked; she obviously knew him quite well. It had, after all, been ten years since she came to Dragonspyre. She was twenty-six now and had barely turned sixteen when he had found her and her brother. Liam had been surveying the Avernus Skyway on his daily route when he noticed an abandoned ship left floating in the skyway. That's where he had met the twin siblings. Apparently their ship had been attacked and the pair were completely knocked out. Normally, the Dragonspyre King would have just waved it off and left them but something told him he shouldn't. So, going with his gut feeling, he brought them back to the castle.

He was expecting a thank you when the siblings woke up; however, he was completely wrong. Aurora was pissed at the King and even quarreled at him, calling him words he didn't even recognize. Max didn't really mind, and stayed quiet. The silver haired boy preferred not to get on his sister's bad side so left her to her own devices.

From that day forward, Liam spent most of his time with Aurora, learning about her and studying her. She was an odd person to him; no one ever treated him the way she did him. It was, he'd admit, a refresher from how everyone else treated him. Being treated like a fragile being by his subjects tended to get rather annoying after a while.

After a year of living with Liam in his castle, Aurora decided she wanted to join his army. He immediately refused which made her completely pissed off. She had refused to speak to him for several weeks until he finally apologized. The blonde haired King still refused to let her join, however, saying that no female has ever had the audacity to ask to join. Once again, he was left in the dark again for a week. The silence from her was getting to him so he finally gave in and let her try out.

To say he was surprised that she easily beat the man he put her up against was an understatement. Apparently she had experience with fighting. She was a pirate after all though he didn't expect her to have any experience with swords; she was a Musketeer as he recalled. Aurora had told him that she didn't always _just_ use guns; you had to be versed in all sorts of weaponry. Guns, swords, daggers; it was best to be able to use them all in case of emergencies. "I use to carry a sword around with me. It was just as important to me as my gun was." She explained to him.

Liam always wondered why hadn't the twins left his castle after they turned well. It wasn't a problem with him but he was curious. Aurora seemed to dislike him a lot when they first came there and he expected her to storm out as soon as she could walk. That didn't happen. "Aurora." She stopped before she fully opened the front doors. "What is it?"

The King stayed silent for a moment before asking her, his curiosity to great to ignore. "Why didn't you leave this place?"

It was a bit vague but she understood it nonetheless. The silver haired woman stayed quiet and didn't give an answer, instead opting to just leave. That was answer enough for him; she was going to let him figure that out on his own. The twenty-eight year old King sighed, knowing it would take time to figure out that question. Time, however, was something he didn't really have these days.

* * *

Cheryl was washing the dishes after dinner. They had ended up having some guests though Cheryl wished it could have been for a happier occasion. The news of war wracked her body with fear. Caitlin had declared war on Wizard City. They use to be so close in the past and now she was declaring war with promises of their demise. The blue haired witch was terrified; she wasn't ready for a war. She had Damian to worry about. He was barely four years old and he was already going to have to witness a war. Hopefully it wouldn't fully reach Wizard City. James had told her he was planning on fighting in Avalon; it was much more spacious and had more room for the conflict. Wizard City was full of civilians; fighting there wasn't an option.

Tears stung her blue eyes as she tried not to think about it and focus on cleaning the dishes. Maybe Caitlin would come to her senses or maybe James could make her see reason and there would be no war. There weren't many wars in the history of the Spiral even though there were many declarations of it. Most of them were settled peacefully. Hopefully it would end up that way again; no fighting just talking.

Feeling a tug at her side, Cheryl turned to see Damian next to her. His blue eyes were looking straight into hers. "Mommy, what's war?"

_Oh god_, she thought. Damian must have heard James' conversation with Molly and Lindsey in the other room. She really didn't want to have to explain it to him so she simply said, "It's when people fight between each other."

The small boys eyes scrunched up. "Why would people wanna do that, Mommy? Fighting is bad!"

She smiled as she finished up the last of the dishes and dried her hands. Bending over, she picked him up and headed for the stairway. "I don't know, sweety, but you shouldn't worry about it, 'kay?" He nodded his head and placed it on her shoulder. She stroked his read hair, knowing he was getting sleepy. "Tired?"

Damian shook his head weakly. "Nuh uh. I'm not...tired at all." He let a small yawn come out, telling her it was bed time. Cheryl chuckled at his weak attempts to convince her. "Mmhm. Looks like it's bed time, mister."

"I don't wanna go to bed, mommy. I wanna stay up!" She rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs anyway. He didn't say anything, knowing that she wasn't going to let him so he just gave up and dozed off. Cheryl decided not to change his clothes and let him sleep with what he had on. She didn't want to risk waking him up, after all.

After he was tucked in she left the room and headed down stairs, making sure to leave the hallway light on and leave his door open a crack. Damian wasn't scared of the dark, he told her, but she could tell he hated being left alone in it. When she reached down stairs finally, she went to the family room to see them still talking. Molly noticed her, "Hello Cheryl."

Cheryl smiled at the brunette, returning her gracious greeting. "Hello, Molly." James had stopped talking to make room for his wife so she could sit down next to him. After she had planted herself down, James patted her leg. "Where's Damian?"

"I put him to bed just moments ago. Little guy was tired." She explained, smiling at the mentioning of her son. Thinking of Damian also made her think of her other child and she unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach. Molly took notice and grinned. "Expecting again, are we?"

The ice witch blushed, nodding her head. Lindsey, being her curious self, couldn't help but ask, "How far along are you?"

"A little over two months, so there isn't much to see or feel yet." The blonde nodded, satisfied with her answer. "So, this talk of war," Cheryl started, changing the subject. James grimaced at the mention but knew it was an unavoidable topic. "Right," he said. "It looks like I'm going to have to take a trip to Avalon."

Cheryl gave him a stern look. "When exactly?"

"Right now."

"W-what?! Right now?" James could tell she wasn't happy with this decision. He himself wasn't happy with it either, wishing he could just stay at home and not haft to worry about it. However, being the Headmaster of Ravenwood and Leader of Wizard City, he had responsibilities to meet. "I'm sorry, Cher, but I have to go. We can't put this off. If I do, who knows what Caitlin will do."

Cheryl simply sighed, knowing he was right but that didn't mean she had to like his decision. Standing up, she excused herself. "I'm going to go take a shower then, I guess."

James let a hurt look flash his features but he didn't stop her. Whenever Cheryl took off for shower she was either pouting or she really just needed one. This was definitely a pouty shower. He knew she would eventually get over it though, he just had to give her some time to calm down. Molly and Lindsey both stood up next. "We best be going then. I want to stop this before the Queen decides to make any other decisions before we return."

"Aren't you her personal adviser? She wouldn't exactly do anything rash before you got back, would she?" James asked, thoroughly curious.

The brunette woman shrugged, "I'm not for sure; Caitlin does what she wants. It's not as if she needs me. I'm only her adviser because I use to be close friends with her."

"You're not close now?"

She smiled. "No, not exactly."

* * *

Krokotopia; a harsh and desolate place to outsiders but a haven for those who knew the land. It was around midnight, and the oasis was quiet, only the scurrying of scarabs and other insects could be heard. Eclipse preferred the silence. Night time was her favorite time of the day and she liked to stay up as long as she could to admire her land. Being Queen of Krokotopia had it's advantages; she could do whatever she pleased. Despite this, the black haired woman was a kind and benevolent Queen to her people. Krokotopians felt lucky to have her, especially after the last ruler.

Eclipse stood directly outside of the Pyramid, looking at the sands, dark from the shadows that clouded them. Sometimes she wished it could always be this way but during the day the oasis was definitely a hot spot. People came from all over Krokotopia to do business and the noise annoyed her at times but she did nothing about it. Just because she was annoyed with the noise doesn't mean she was going to dampen her people's days.

Something brushing against her leg alerted her and she looked down; it was one of the many cats that roamed the Pyramid. Her servants really enjoyed having them around so she allowed them to keep some inside. The cat simply meowed and then sat beside her, staring out at the land as she did. It's gold plated necklace, a sign that it was a Pyramid cat and not allowed to be messed with, shone in the moonlight. Eclipse didn't mind the cats and enjoyed their company at times when she was doing royal business.

It was getting late, Eclipse knew, and she'd have to retire to her chambers soon. She had to attend a meeting with Zafaria's leader tomorrow and she wasn't looking forward to it. She knew she had an alliance with them because of their many trade able goods that her people needed but that didn't mean she really had to enjoy it. Eclipse would have much rather traded with a different world, one not so full of rabid animal people, but she had went with her advisers request.

Feeling of her silk red cape in thought, she turned and headed inside the Pyramid, the cat following closely behind her. When she got inside, she was bombarded by one of her servants. "Your Majesty!"

Eclipse wasn't surprised at all, really. She was use to Hannah always being loud. Her calm and soothing voice spoke, "What is it, Hannah?"

"Avalon has declared war on Wizard City! What should we do?"

The answer was a simple one; nothing. The affairs of Avalon and Wizard City were none of her concern. She didn't much care for either world so she said, "Nothing of course. It's not our problem." Hannah looked stunned and was dumbfounded. "But, your Majesty, I have family in Wizard City."

Eclipse's temples scrunched up and she frowned. Hannah wouldn't forgive her if she simply said "That's too bad". She'd just have to let the young red head go to Wizard City. "Very well then, I'll let you go to Wizard City. However, you are to bring them back here, not stay. Is this clear?"

Hannah smiled, her hazel eyes shining with happiness. "Crystal."

"All right then, be on your way. I'd rather you do this now and get it out of the way. You may take a few of the horses if you so choose." With that, Eclipse headed off towards her bed chambers. Curiously, the cat that was with her kept following her. Sometimes she wondered what the cats thought, if they could think at all.

Cori, one of her guards, stood outside her bedroom. The black haired girl could tell her Queen had indeed had a tiresome day. "Tired, your Majesty?"

"Indeed," Eclipse said as she opened her bedroom door. The cat that had followed her slipped inside and made itself comfortable on one of the couches in the room. Cori saw this and chuckled, "Having a sleep over?"

Eclipse grunted and said nothing while she walked into her room and closing the door. She didn't much care what the cat did as long as it didn't make a mess of things.

Slipping off her gold rimmed dress and unhooking her cape, she neatly folded them and place them upon her shelf. Next, she took her crown; a stunning piece. It was bedazzled with rubies and onyx gems. Quite fitting for a necromancer who was part fire. Eclipse put her gold scepter next to it and closed the glass case. She stared at the black and red orb located on top of the scepter, finding it mesmerizing to look at before shaking her head and putting on her sleep attire.

Once she was finished, she shimmied into her bed and lay in silence. She jumped a bit when the cat meowed and jumped onto the bed, lying down next to her. She stared at it through the corner of her eye, before turning her whole body to face the cat. Normally, she wouldn't let anything or anyone other than herself lie in her bed but for tonight, she made an exception. "This is the only time I'll let you sleep here."

The cat meowed as if it understood and then put it's head down, falling into slumber. Eclipse stared a bit longer before she too dozed off.

* * *

Amy Roseblood; current Queen of Marleybone and one pissed off chick. Only an hour ago, a woman named Aurora, along with a man named Max, had come to deliver a message. Apparently their ally, Wizard City, was at war with Avalon. Sometimes Amy couldn't believe the stupidity of some people but she knew it wasn't James' fault. Avalon was the one to start it. Marleybone, since it was part of the Allied Nations (A group that consisted of the Spirals four big Worlds), was probably going to end up going to war as well. Dragonspyre had already agreed to help Wizard City out. Amy wasn't sure if she wanted for her people to have to go through a war. Sure, it could be good for their economy since wars created more jobs, but she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to risk civilians lives _just for that_. "I can't believe this." She spoke.

Rylee, her personal maid, stood beside her and looked nervous. She, too, was scared of the impending war. What would happen to Marleybone if they ended up aiding Wizard City. Would Avalon forces show up in Marleybone as well and try to kill everyone in sight? Rylee knew that Amy was a past friend of Caitlin, the Queen of Avalon. However, their friendship was always a little strained and it was easy for them to forget about the past friendship that barely was. "Your Majesty, are you going to accept that woman's proposal?"

Amy gave a quick look to Rylee, the former's golden eyes making the latter shiver. Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut. "I don't know." The Queen spoke finally, making Rylee look up.

"Rylee, I'd like you to go fetch Caleb. I'll need to go over the possible options and quick." Rylee squeaked out a "Yes, ma'am," and took off. Amy, if she had been brash and arrogant, would have immediately said no, Marleybone's alliance with Dragonspyre and Wizard City be damned. She wouldn't risk lives. But Amy wasn't that person, not anymore. She knew she'd have to play this out carefully and plan out the options she could take. Caleb, being himself, wouldn't offer a right or wrong choice for them to take. However, he always did know what to say.

Amy stood up from her throne, her purple hair flying around her as she did so. The irritated Queen brushed a few strands out of her face as she started pacing the huge room. Her heeled boots make 'clack' noises as she walked, making her further irritated. "Shepherds, help us." She groaned out.

"It's rare to see you so aggravated." Amy was hoping Caleb would keep his side comments to himself tonight but she guessed it was a bit of a tall order. "Why so jumpy?"

Rylee, now that her job was done, quickly rushed back to stand beside the throne as she had done previously. Amy sat herself down and tried to cool herself. "Rylee, did you not explain the situation to him?"

"S-sorry. It's just, Master Caleb is a bit of a talker and I couldn't get a word in edge wise." Amy smirked at this, looking in triumph at the deflated white haired male. "I told you. You talk to much." He simply crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling in a pouty manner. Rylee sweat dropped at their obvious immaturity. The smirk on Amy's face quickly vanished and was replaced with a scowl. "Enough of that, we have business to discuss. A messenger from Dragonspyre arrived earlier. She told me that Avalon had declared war on Wizard City."

Caleb looked at her in shocked silence. Caitlin declared war on Wizard City? Normally that wouldn't be a surprise, given that she had promised something like this in the past, but why now? Just when everything and everyone had regained peace from that war a few years back, she declares war _now?_ "Have you decided on what you're going to do?"

The Queen shook her head. "No, that's why I wanted to talk to you."

"You need advice?"

"More or less, yeah."

Caleb rubbed the back of his head. He didn't know what to do, plus he wasn't the ruler of Marleybone. Why ask him of all people? "Why not ask Alex about this? He is your personal adviser."

Amy rolled her eyes, "I would have but he has taken a trip to the Isle of Fetch for the time being. I sent him there to pick up a few things that I needed."

"What things?" Caleb asked in curiosity. Amy blushed and this answered his question. "Ah, I see. Okay, then. I would say," he tapped his chin, "that we stay neutral for now. If Wizard City really needs us, which I doubt they do, then we'll join. For now though, we'll simply sit back and wait it out."

Amy shrugged, thinking it to be all right for now. It looks like Marleybone would be staying neutral for the time being.

* * *

"Yo, Deirdre, you got a letter from Caitlin. Something about a war?" Deirdre snatched the letter from Grace who shot her a dirty look. "Don't just take it out of my hands like that! Gosh."

"Oh, shut your face. It's addressed to _me_, isn't it?" Turning around, Deirdre's brown hair accidentally smacked Grace in the face. Grace spurted out the brown locks and glared, Deirdre smirking at her before turning back to her letter. "Cat wants us to join her war against Wizard City. Haha, why not."

"You're just accepting because you think she's hot. Sicko." The celestian leader faked a hurt look before patting the top of Grace's head. "Now, now, calm down. You're just jealous because you can never get any from Lindsey." Grace's cheeks heated up at the mentioning of the blonde, who she had only seen a few times before. "It has nothing to do with that!"

Deirdre rolled her eyes at the fuming girl before walking inside the Celestian Palace. Sometimes she wondered how she had become leader in Celestia. Apparently they found her interesting, saying that she had a "unique way of speaking and was a very convincing person". The brunette didn't understand much of what they said because of their strange accent but when she heard they wanted her to be ruler, she had stated, "Sure, why not."

It wasn't the kind of exciting story to tell your kids or anything but it was the kind that would make you wish you had those ten seconds of your life back. Deirdre chuckled at the thought before waving her wand at a pen and paper. It quickly wrote out her response and she handed it to Grace. "Take this to whoever gave you the other letter. Tell them it'll have my response."

Grace rolled her eyes but nodded and took off.

After plopping herself down in the throne, Matthew walked in. "Yo, dude! 'Sup?"

He shrugged, "Meh, you know. The usual."

"Ah, raiding the kitchen again, were you?" He nodded casually, as if it was a reoccurring thing, which it was. "So," Deirdre started. "I got this letter from Caitlin-" Matthew cut her off, "That one chick you have the hots for?"

"Zip it, dude, I'm speaking. _Anyway_, she sent me a letter asking if we'd join her in her war against Wizard City." Matthew just 'Ah'd' at this, finding it to be nothing of much importance. Caitlin hated Wizard City. It was bound to happen eventually. Even Celestia could see that. "So what did you say?"

"What'ya think? I said yeah, of course!" Deirdre said, matter of factly. She stood up abruptly. "Wanna go do something? I'm bored."

"Sure."

* * *

James had his bag packed with everything he'd need. Some political documents, spell book, a bit of food, and a change of clothing just in case. Cheryl was still locked in the bathroom so he couldn't exactly hug her goodbye. By the time he gets back, she'd be over it, he thought. She'd be mad, at max, a day. Knocking on the bathroom door, he told her he was leaving. "Make sure to tell Sean and Malorn where I am, in case they come by."

She didn't answer him but he knew she had heard so he took off towards the living room to grab his bag. Picking it up and slinging it over his shoulder, he nodded at Molly and Lindsey who had been waiting on him. "I'm ready, I suppose."

The brunette nodded at him and headed towards the front door, James and Lindsey following behind her. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a pair of silver headed people. Molly scowled, already knowing who they were. Aurora and Max Silver, Dragonspyre's famed siblings. She had only met them once and during that time, Aurora almost took her life. Max she didn't really mind. He was the nicer of the two. "What are you doing here?"

Aurora simply stared at them with a bored look. "I believe that question should be more directed at you. Avalon isn't exactly on the best of terms with Wizard City, we hear."

James stepped out in front of Molly. "Aurora? Max? What are you two doing here?"

The silver haired woman simply crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "I should think that obvious. We've come with word that Liam has agreed to lend aid to your war against Avalon."

James shot Molly and Lindsey a look before turning back to the silver haired siblings. "I don't think it will be necessary. I'm going to Avalon to straighten this all out. There won't be a war."

"You really think you can change that wretched woman's mind?" Molly grit her teeth at this statement. Caitlin may not be as she use to but that didn't give this woman a right to insult her so casually. "Don't speak ill of her Majesty!"

Before Molly could get another word out, Aurora already had the tip of her sword at the brunette's throat. A worried expression broke out onto Lindsey's face and she let a light gasp come out. Max said nothing and then looked at James, as if asking him to say something. The red headed male swallowed. He knew Aurora was a dangerous person to mess with and he didn't want to set her off. "Now, Aurora. Please, put away your sword. There's really no need for violence."

She didn't comply at first and continued to stare at Molly who glared back. Eventually, she put her sword away and turned around. "Very well then. I hope you're right about changing her mind. If war comes, it'll be your fault." With those words, she walked away, Max following behind her. However the latter stopped and turned around, walking back towards the group. James raised a brow at Max. "Yes?"

Max cleared his throat before saying, "Look, I know Aurora can be brash and rude, but you should really think about accepting the offer. I've already heard word that Azteca has agreed to help Avalon. I don't think you can change her mind, no matter what you say or what you offer." After he finished speaking, he turned away and ran off to catch up with his sister.

James stood silently, thinking over what he had said. Azteca agreeing to help Avalon? Not surprising, he already knew that would happen. But the more he thought about this, the more he realized that Max was right; Caitlin wouldn't change her mind. Still, he thought. He had to at least _try_. So he motioned for Molly and Lindsey to follow him, silently telling them that he wasn't going to change his mind about going.

Trying was the only thing he really could do right now.

**End Act I**

And that concludes act I. I'm going to be using roman numerals for chapter titles.

I'm surprised I managed to write out five-thousand words. Usually I'm lazy and write about two to three thousand. Oh well, this was fun to do! Especially Deirdre, since her way of talking is hilarious for me. She doesn't care about acting like a leader. She just wants to have fun.

Also, I haven't exactly picked the pairing for Caitlin yet. So, if any of you people out there have a female character you wanna pair with her, lemme know! There are pictures of what she looks like linked in my profile. I have done lots of fan art for my characters and such. I'd really, really, like for a female Empress to be the one I pair her with. As in, the Empress of Mooshu. Whom I really need for this story. Or if can be a guy character I pair her with, doesn't matter which. I just find Yuri adorable!

Here is a form to fill out if you want to submit your OC-

Name-  
Age-  
Personality-  
Appearance/Description-  
School Class-  
Experience with magic(i.e lvl of character)-  
Position in Spiral-

And, this is optional, but a love interest. If you want to pair them with someone, go ahead and ask! I'd love it!


	3. Act II

I'm going to take this time to apologize for any grammatical and misspellings I make in advanced. I don't exactly have an editor, though when I do spot errors I try and fix them and update the story with the newer version. For some reason, some of the line breaks aren't showing up on my computer so instead of that, I am going to just use the word break in place of it. Hope that's okay with you all!

In other news, I did a Fanart for this story; thought it could use one, really. It's linked in my profile under the 'Group Art' section near the top. It's a picture of Cheryl, Damian, and Seraphyna. I would have put James in it but I suck at drawing guys...

_All characters belong to their rightful and respectful owners. I claim no ownership except for my own characters._

–_Caitlin-Silver_

**Act II**

Max and Aurora had finally returned to Dragonspyre in a rather displeased attitude. Well, it was more or less Aurora who was in a sour mood. Her brother had simply gone along for the ride because she wanted him to. If anyone else had asked, Max would have politely refused.

It didn't take the siblings long to reach the castle's proximity and they headed for a stone building. When they walked in, they were greeted by fellow Dragonspyre soldiers. Krystal was among the mass and she slammed down the cards she had been holding and excused herself from the game. Her playing buddies just waved her off and smiled.

Despite everyone's happy mood, they were all nervous about the supposed war coming up. It had been a long time since they had fought against Avalon's forces and the thought of it made them all a bit nervous. Avalon was known for it's skilled warriors, warlords, and warladies alike. Though, that was in the past and they hadn't the slightest idea of how Avalon's soldiers fought now. They had a new Queen now and what came with a different ruler, came a different army. Caitlin had her own way of doing things for sure and it was rumored her training regime was cruel and brutal.

The silver haired woman had once been a valued friend in Dragonspyre and it was a little disheartening to hear one of your friends, who had been gentle and kind, become a malevolent and wicked person. Their King had told them not to think on it; it wasn't their business anymore. Even though Caitlin was now the current Queen of Avalon, it didn't mean that Dragonspyre would become their ally. Quite the opposite in fact, as both worlds had disputes all the time. Caitlin felt like she owned everything in the Spiral and no one would stop her from getting what she wanted.

"You're back," Krystal said, stating the already obvious. Max nodded; Aurora simply brushed passed them all, heading up the staircase. "Something wrong with the Commander?"

Max shrugged, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs before explaining, "Don't mind her. She's just a bit, well, pissed off from our mission. It seems that James believes he can reason with Queen Bitch." Truth be told, Max hated Caitlin. He'd never met her but he had _heard_ enough of her to where it left a bad taste in his mouth. In fact, there was one weird rumor that she looked similar to his sister. Only Aurora had shorter, messier, hair that she slung over her left shoulder. Max hoped that one, at least, was, in fact, just a rumor. He couldn't handle a sister look-a-like.

Krystal took a seat next to him and sighed, placing her chin on her hands. "So does this mean no war for Dragonspyre?"

The silver haired boy shrugged again. "Dunno exactly. I get the feeling James is gonna fuck up somewhere or another. It's all a matter of time and then we'll be dragged into the war."

The female soldier groaned, hiding her face in her black locks. Not the answer she wanted to hear. She didn't want war; period. Not the "all a matter of time" answer. "Have you already reported to the King yet?"

Max shook his head. Krystal suppressed a sigh. Liam was going to find out eventually and the sooner the better. They couldn't exactly keep this a secret from him. Then again, this might be good news. It all really depended on how he viewed things. Max didn't normally talk to the King. No, his sister handled that job fine on her own, so he really didn't see a need to do it himself. However, it was quite obvious Aurora wanted to be left alone. "I'll have sis get to it later. When she isn't so moody anymore, that is."

A muffled voice replied from upstairs. "I heard that."

Some of the other soldiers held in their laughter. One snorted quite audibly, however, and Max hoped his sister hadn't heard it. She didn't exactly take kind to people making fun of her.

A few moments passed before she replied with a; "I'll let all this _slide_ for today. Consider yourselves, _all of you_, lucky."

Some of the men in the room swallowed, knowing the indirect threat was a solid one. One of the reasons Aurora had a good control on the Dragonspyre army was due to, in fact, her intimidating aura. No one radiated it quite like her and it just made a person nervous to be near her. Unless you had a special immunity to it, like Max and Liam did. The Commander was known to do off with a soldier or two if it really came down to it. If there was one thing she didn't stand for, it was disloyalty. You did what she said, when she said it, and _how_ she said it. You messed up on one little detail, you could find yourself locked in the dungeons for three days.

The dungeon's normally weren't scary; Dragonspyre soldiers were trained not to fear anything. However, there were _creatures_ down there that needn't be mentioned. Most soldiers who survived never spoke of it; others simply didn't speak at all, anymore.

So there was just one rule everyone followed and they made sure to follow it to the _dot_: Do what Commander Aurora says. Don't ask question's, just _do_.

She gave orders for a reason after all.

Krystal decided not to think about those kinds of things anymore. She didn't exactly need to feel any worse than she already did. "So," Max interrupted. "What have you been doing since we've been gone?"

The sudden topic changed seemed to perk his friend up a bit. "Nothing, really. Just been playing card games and the like," Krystal explained. "In fact, I was about to pick up where I left off. Wanna join?"

Max thought for a moment before getting up from his chair and stretching. "Sure, I guess."

Aurora, from her room upstairs, could hear all the boisterous banter downstairs. They seemed to be having fun. That was a relief, she thought to herself. She knew she gave her subordinates a hard time but it was for their own good. Sometimes she just wished she wasn't Commander anymore. It was a tiring job; one that barely gave her time to rest. At times, Aurora wondered what would have happened had Liam not found them that day. Well, that was easy to figure out. They'd be dead. That's the only reason she stayed in Dragonspyre. To repay the debt. She would give her life in order to fulfill any wish that Liam had asked of her.

The silver haired woman stopped in her thoughts. Would she really give her life for his? It was kind of a ridiculous thing to ask herself really. If it was anyone else, she would have said no. She owed no one her life; not even her brother. Sure, most people would call her self for thinking such a thing, but she didn't care. Aurora could really care less about what others thought of her. People were people; they'd talk about something for a while, forget, and then move onto something else.

The Commander landed against the wall, her back slowly sliding down the stone slabs until she was sitting on the floor. "Why _do_ I stay here? It's not like I owe my entire life to that stupid King." She stared up at the ceiling. It was, as expected, a very dark blue color with pale red dragon designs decorating it. Scooting her knees close to her chest, Aurora laced her fingers together, her arms dangling in front of her. "Maybe I should just leave this place and return to Skull Island. Liam would never let me though and I'd have to get permission to get a ship. We don't exactly have many of them here."

Sometimes she wondered what her brother thought of their situation. Most likely he didn't care, of course. Max didn't care about much these days. Not since the accident three years ago. The poor boy had fallen for a girl. He'd fallen so hard that he even told his sister about it. That was considered big between them since they never discussed personal things. Max had asked her for help; he wanted to ask the woman out.

Unfortunately for him, it was time when they had a bit of a spider infestation in Dragonspyre. The problem was mostly taken care of except for the Crystal Grove. The woman, Daniella, was fond of crystals and she'd journey there whenever she had the chance to. Daniella, hearing that Dragonspyre had been cleared of the spiders, assumed that it was finally safe for her to travel once more. Aurora was glad that Max was not there to actually _witness_ her horrid demise. She, however, was not so lucky and had to sit through it.

The Commander went into the Crystal Grove by herself in order to clear out any remaining spiders, thinking it to be an easy job. After destroying a few and some eggs she found, she searched the rest of the area before deeming it safe. However, on her way back, Aurora noticed a tower she didn't check and went inside to make sure it, too, was cleared out. It was dark inside but not too much to where she couldn't see anything. She thanked no one in particular for her good eye-sight.

Not seeing anything worrisome, she turned to leave. This had been her biggest fault and one that cost her dearly. Before she could even register what happened, there was a sharp pain in her chest. Looking down, she saw something sticking through her being. It was sharp, obviously, and it kind of looked hairy. Like, a spider's...

Twisting her head as best she could, her two eyes came to look into a pair of eight eyes. They glowed faint red in the dark. The arachnid let out disgusting chuckle. "Well, I can't believe my luck. Commander Aurora; a pleasant surprise indeed."

The spider pulled it's thorned limb from her chest, making Aurora topple over onto the floor. It hurt to breathe almost but she ignored the pain and, somehow, managed to sit up and turn towards the giant spider. She glared as menacingly as she could, staring the spider down. "You... You bastard." Aurora suddenly wished she hadn't spoken because not a moment sooner, she spit up a bunch of blood. It splattered on the ground in front of her. This only seemed to encourage the spider. "Hurts, doesn't it? Hehe."

A voice from the back suddenly spoke up. "Commander Aurora? Is that you?!"

The silver haired woman raised her head as best she could to look at who the voice belonged to. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her vision which was becoming rapidly more blurry. It wasn't hard to figure out who the voice belonged to though. It was Daniella. "Daniella... What are you doing here? Why are you in this place?!"

Daniella had been caught by the spider obviously. She had eventually passed out from crying so much in fear of what the spider would do to her. It was a wonder why she was still alive. Was the spider saving her for something? "Let her go, immediately."

The spider ignored her and walked to the frightened Daniella. She looked ready to scream out. "I don't think you're in any position to demand anything, _Commander_. You kill my kind. I think it only fair that I kill yours as well." Aurora's eyes widened from the spiders comment. The spider was going to kill Daniella, then? Shaking her head weakly, the silver haired Commander stood up and gripped her gun. Pulling it out from it's holster, she lifted it up and cocked it. "Let her go."

Daniella was completely terrified of the situation. She noticed that Aurora was injured. Blood had completely drenched the floor beneath her. It was a wonder how she was still alive or even awake still, for that matter. The spider looked towards her prisoner and grinned. "I wish I could say I feel sorry for doing this, but sadly I can't." Large fangs dug themselves into the side Daniella's neck, making the latter let out a strangled screech of pain.

Blood sprayed out from the wound as the spider let go, only to bite her again. Aurora fired several shorts but missed because her eye sight was still completely messed up. "God damn this!" She threw her gun away and instead pulled her sword out of it's sheath. Aurora stopped for a quick moment to catch her breath. The loss of blood was starting to get to her. Daniella's screams of agony filled her ears. Despite not wanting to admit it, there was nothing she could do for the girl. She was going to die and probably herself as well. All because Aurora didn't take notice of her surroundings a little better. She cursed herself for her screw up.

The last thing Aurora could remember is the sound of Krystal shouting her name.

"Aurora!"

Aurora jerked awake from the past memory as she heard her name. "Aurora! You in there still?"

Pinching her temples together, she sighed. "Who is it?"

"It's Max, idiot. Come out, already." She sighed once more before opening the door. Max stood there with his arms crossed. "What were you doing in there all this time?"

She looked to her right at nothing in particular, searching for an answer. She couldn't really think of anything. "Just thinking of some past memories."

This made Max curious. He raised a brow, asking, "Memories of what?"

Aurora brushed past him and headed down the stairs. The answer rang clearly to him though. "The 'accident'."

**Break-**

"Sakurazaki-sama, I received word earlier today that Avalon has declared war upon our ally, the City of Wizards."

A Samoorai stood before his Empress, bowing in a submissive stance. Sweat rolled down his head, his nervousness obvious. The black haired Empress looked at her subordinate, Yoshiko, with a calm and serene expression. A moment lingered before the Samoorai continued, "It also seems that the dog people have decided to stay neutral on the matter. The Dragon world has promised to lend them assistance if necessary. What are we do to, Sakurazaki-sama?"

She fanned herself with her golden fan, not finding the information surprising. Avalon and it's ruler despised Wizard City. Sakurazaki wasn't actually aware of who was the current Queen or King of Avalon so she couldn't really say too much about them. Sighing, she turned around, her sakura-printed light green kimono twirling with her as she did. Her sandals clicked as she walked towards a garden located in the back of the Palace. Waving her fan, she tended her garden, effectively keeping herself calm. "It seems," she spoke quietly, "we have a problem, then."

The Samoorai waited patiently as his Empress tended her garden. He knew not to interfere so he sat in silence. Twenty minutes passed before she finally decided to stop and come back. "Yoshiko?"

He bowed in response. "In your honest opinion, what do you think we should do?"

Yoshiko thought for a moment. He wasn't exactly an expert at strategy and decisions. It took him a while before he had an answer he felt was right. "I believe, your excellency, that we should give aid to the Wizards, even if they don't require it. Then again, that could just be my kindness speaking."

"Kindness is a trait that is worth having and even more worth keeping, do not forget. I find your answer acceptable. We shall go with that." Yoshiko was glad she was Mooshu's Empress. She easily maintained the peace in their world. Before she came to power, all Mooshu did was fight amongst itself. There was a calming aura about Sakurazaki that made others feel at ease. It was part of the reason everyone looked up to her.

"Yes, Sakurazaki-sama." Yoshiko took his leave from the Palace.

Once Yoshiko was gone, Sakurazaki frowned. A war isn't what Mooshu needed right now. However, she knew it was a foolish wish to think of. Peace was something that, once obtained, quickly vanished. The worlds of the Spiral have always had different eye levels and would never agree with one another's views. Sure, there were alliances, but even those didn't guarantee anything permanent. Once two worlds fought something to fight about, it would go on until they went to war or they were able to meet each other's demands. Thankfully, the latter happened most of the time. She wished she could say the same for this situation as well but she could not.

"The Spiral shall cry for it's loss of peace. Once this war breaks out, there's no stopping it until either James or Avalon's leader dies. I pray for everyone's safety." Sakurazaki spoke to herself. Praying did nothing but it put her mind at ease for the time being. Hope was all she had at this point. She'd just have to go with it until something else happened.

The Empress sat herself on one of the jade bench's located in the Palace as she walked along with her thoughts. Perhaps, she thought, I could speak with Avalon's ruler. I am quite persuasive when I want to be. "Oh that won't work. Nobiru will never let me go." She spoke, thinking of her Palace Guard. He was strict with thing's, especially if it came to Sakurazaki going anywhere. Sakurazaki could easily subdue him, since she is Empress, but there was something about Nobiru that scared her. She never did ago against him or disobey when he ordered her to return to the Jade Palace. She didn't exactly find it at all fair but she did do what he said.

"Oh, what shall I do?"

**Break-**

Ehecatl White-Scale; current King of Azteca and a harsh but fair ruler. Caring for the well being of his people is his top and only priority. Upon receiving his allies letter, sent from Queen Caitlin herself, he is quick to refuse the proposal of joining her in the war against Wizard City. However, after thinking of it more and more, Ehecatl realizes it could be a good opportunity to gain more goods for his people. That was, after all, his top priority.

"Are we going to war, then, Your Majesty?" Kawil asks his King as they walk towards the Palace. His silence clearly answer's the question. It's been a while since Azteca has fought anyone, the last being Krokotopia. Filthy place, he thought to himself. The Aztecan King absolutely _despised_ the Krokotopians, especially their Queen, Eclipse No-Light. Ehecatl really wanted to kill her. It was a shame that Krokotopia wasn't an ally of Wizard City anymore. He would have enjoyed destroying the place, _thoroughly_.

"Shall I send word back to Avalon, then?" Ehecatl shook his head. "No need. Now, leave me. I must think." Kawil simply gave a quick bow to the humanoid T-Rex then left.

Sitting himself in his throne, Ehecatl simply stared at nothing in particular. The fire from the torches around him illuminated his white scales in the darkness of the room, making them shine with a brilliance. His red eyes blinked, moistening his eyes so they wouldn't go dry. If Azteca was going to war, then would Celestia also be apart of it? If there was Ehecatl couldn't stand, it was Deirdre's constant talking. She was a loud individual who he found gravely annoying. If not for Celestia's goods, he would have killed her a long time ago. "I sincerely hope she won't be apart of this."

For now though, he thought, he'd stick with just thinking out battle tactics. It was best to be prepared for anything instead of just blindly running into the fray, something which Deirdre would _absolutely_ do. She was more trouble than she was worth. Ehecatl could simply picture her right now, running through a battlefield, running and yelling at everyone. Yeah, like that didn't draw attention to yourself at all.

"I should meet with Caitlin soon to go over this." He'd just have to figure out when and where. Ehecatl didn't much care to journey to Avalon but it would be a better idea than meeting in Azteca. Caitlin had a thing about jungle terrain. She hated it.

**Break-**

It was already one in the morning when Cheryl finally got out of the shower. Her emotions had caused the water to turn cold way too quickly but she didn't care. It felt nice and it made her feel a lot better. Drying her hair, she headed upstairs to her bedroom she shared with James and look for a clean robe to put on.

"Mommy..." The blue haired ice witch heard her son's voice down the hallway. She wondered what he could be wanting at this time of hour. More importantly, what was he doing up? Oh well, she'd simply put him back to sleep, no harm done. "I'll be there in a minute, sweety," she spoke, loudly enough for him to hear.

Cheryl found a simple white robe to wear with a light blue trimming. It was loose enough to be comfortable so she put it on. After she deemed herself presentable, she headed down the hallway and stopped in front of Damian's door. Slowly opening the already cracked door, she turned on the light. Damian was sitting up in his bed looking tired but scared. "What's wrong, Damian?"

The little boy looked at his mother and held up his hands, silently asking to be picked up. Cheryl complied, picking him up and smoothing out his hair. "Mommy, I had a bad dream." Sweeping a few stands of hair away from his face, Cheryl looked into his blue eyes. "What about, dear?"

"I don't remember but I feel like something bad is gonna happen soon." Sometimes Cheryl wondered if her son had a sixth sense. He always knew something was up. She wished, however, that he wasn't dead on about this one. Damian had heard about this 'war' but he had no idea what it was and it surprised her that he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. "Can I sleep with you tonight, Mommy?"

Saying no to a face like Damian's was impossible. "Yes, of course you can. Let's go to Mommy's room, 'kay?"

He nodded and laid his head on her shoulder, yawning. Cheryl hoped, by at least some miracle, James would be back tomorrow. _Safely._

**Break-**

Aurora decided she had taken enough time. She had better go report back to Liam. She was almost sure that he was getting antsy waiting for the response from James.

Walking slowly and silently to the throne room, Aurora was sure he would find the news a little insulting. James he declined Dragonspyre's help and, indirectly, Liam's help. In all honesty, Aurora herself didn't mind not going to war but it would have created the perfect distraction for her to leave.

Yes, Liam had asked her several times why she stayed but every time she hinted at leaving or wondering what her old home was like now, he had quickly changed the subject or dismissed it. Aurora thought he didn't even know what he was saying half the time. He must have been saying things from his subconscious or something because most of the time he acted like he wouldn't care if she left. "Stupid King."

She stopped walking for a moment. Aurora knew James was going to fail in convincing Caitlin and once that happened, he'd beg for Dragonspyre's help. Liam would give it, of course, and it would create a perfect opportunity for her to leave. No one would notice; they'd be too caught up in focusing on the war. When that point came, she'd leave. Even if Max refused to leave with her and chose to stay. She wanted to be free of this place and if it meant leaving Max, she would do it.

Continuing walking, she finally reached the throne room. As expected, Liam sat there looking as bored as ever. Turning his head to the right, he spotted her walking towards him. "I see you're back."

"Obviously."

He ignored her sarcastic reply. "How did it go?"

Aurora sat down on the arm of the throne like she usually did. "James thinks he can convince Caitlin to stop all this."

Liam smirked, not even bothering to open his eyes. He found that answer amusing. James convince Caitlin to stop the war she has declared? It was completely a deranged thought. Honestly, it didn't matter. Whether James was expecting it or not, the war would happen. Like everything else, it was all just a matter of time. "Don't worry, Aurora. He'll ask us for help eventually."

She said nothing in response to this. Aurora did hope it would come time for that but for now she'd have to plot exactly how she was going to leave this place. "If you say so."

**End Act II**

Okay, chapter two is officially done. Hooray. Sorry if your OC wasn't in this one but I couldn't really find a place to incorporate them in this chapter.

So in this chapter we find out a bit about Aurora's past, check in on Cheryl and meet the rules or Azteca and Mooshu. It looks like Aurora is planning to escape all this nonsense and go back home to Skull Island. Now I come to an important question: **Do you want Aurora to succeed in escaping back home? Do you want her to stay in Dragonspyre? Or do you have some other idea?**

I really can't decide so that's why I am asking for opinions on this! Also, I need a pairing for her. I don't want her to be all lonely. I was going to pair her with Krystal but I am leaning towards Liam as well. Maybe both but eventually kill one of them off. _Yes,_ there will be the death of important characters in the story. It's a war; it should be expected.

In other news, I still need a leader or leader_s_ for Zafaria. The OC form should be in last chapter in case you wanna submit one. After that, only minor roles are going to be accepted. Unless I decide to add in Grizzleheim but I think I should do that only if there is a sequel to this story. I didn't plan on this story to be too long. Hopefully ten chapters at the most. I'm aiming for a fifty thousand word goal here so we'll see how it turns out. Who knows? Maybe this _will_ be a really long story.


	4. Act III

Hello, all! This is, like, super late in updating and I'm so, so, sorry. I was going to make this ten thousand words to try and make up for it but then I remembered that I still don't have a leader for Zafaria. So I can't put in Krokotopia's meeting with Zafaria. That _really_ needs to get done or this story won't be able to go on. So this chapter will be, most likely, the shortest chapter ever. I feel bad but once I have a Zafaria leader, we can continue on with this in bigger chunks!

Before we start the chapter, I have something I want to ask you all. **How would you feel about me doing a spin off for this story? Basically, you ask any of the characters in the story a question and they shall answer it in a spin off chapter.** Kind of like an interview! It's just an idea really but my friend Risu and I think it would be fun. It was originally her idea anyway. If you want it, lemme know! The spin off will be it's own story. I won't be putting the chapters in this story. I want them separate.

Once again, I apologize for any grammatical errors or misspellings. You just can't avoid those kinds of things and they will always be present. If you spot some, tell me and I will fix them when and if I can.

_All characters belong to their rightful and respectful owners. I claim no ownership except for my own characters._

–_Caitlin-Silver_

**Act III**

Caitlin was getting antsy waiting for Molly and Lindsey to return; what was taking those two so long?! It was a simple task, really. It shouldn't take them a whole day and a half just to deliver it. "This is ridiculous."

Brynne stood in the palace throne room, watching the Queen pace back and forth. She did have to agree with Caitlin; it didn't take this long to deliver one simple letter. Unless, some trouble had intercepted the two girls. It was possible but the people of Wizard City were too nice to actually do anything to simple messengers. Besides that, James was past friends with Molly and it was unlikely he would even think of harming them. True, Lindsey's appearance might make him uneasy, but the blonde was practically harmless. The most she had ever killed was a simple fly.

"Your Highness," Brynne interjected. "I don't believe it wise to continue on like this."

The silver haired Queen stopped her pacing to look up at her companion. That sentence could have several meanings. She narrowed her eyes. "What exactly do you mean, Brynne?"

"I am only saying it is best if you settle down and not worry yourself. They will be back." Brynne explained, in an attempt at calming her Queen.

The way the wolf woman's eyes glowed green made Caitlin shiver slightly. She only nodded in response and sat down in the tall, silver throne. Before either of them could say another word, the front doors opened up. Molly strode in. She was as calm as ever but there was a hint of nervousness evident in her face. Behind her, Lindsey looked as equally nervous. "Where have you two been?"

They both bowed, apologizing for their lateness. Brynne looked at them with dissatisfaction clearly written upon her features. This made Lindsey gulp, showing her fear. "We're sorry we're late."

Caitlin sighed, waving them off. "Oh well, doesn't matter. We have to prepare for the war–"

Molly quickly interjected. "Wait! Um, we brought back someone who would like to speak with you."

This made the Queen raise a brow; they brought someone here? Here? "You brought someone _here_?"

"I know, I know–"

"_Molly_!"

A new voice spoke, "Please, don't be mad at them."

Everyone turned their attention towards the front doors. James stood there, looking calm. Well, at least he tried. He was quite nervous about doing this. The red haired man began walking towards them until he was stopped by a dagger that flew past his head. Brynne growled at him, "I wouldn't go any further if I were you."

The Wizard City leader could feel a wetness run down the side of his cheek. Wiping the side of his face, he pulled his hand back to discover blood coating his fingers and palm. The former wolf scout had quite the aim, he noted. There was a smirk evident on his adversaries face. She must have found that quite amusing.

"Look," James started. "I didn't come here to fight. I came here to try and stop this whole thing."

Caitlin cleared her throat and crossed her fingers together. "I'm only going to say this once so you'd better listen and listen good."

Molly and Lindsey both looked nervous, however the latter looked completely frightened. The blonde looked like she was about to pass out. Brynne simply stood by the Queen's throne, making sure James didn't make a wrong move. The red head said nothing himself and opted to be quiet until Caitlin finished talking. Obviously, she was going to refuse anything he said about stopping the war. That was plainly obvious and he should have saw it coming a lot sooner. Well, he saw it coming but he decided to go ahead and give it a shot.

Caitlin stood, keeping her ever growing glare in place. "I will not back out of this. War is coming, whether you're ready for it or not. Azteca and Celestia have already promised their alliance. I suggest you start picking your allies as well. And quickly."

James sighed, seeing her answer was final. It seems he traveled all the way to Avalon for nothing, then. There was only one question he had left. "You're not going to try and kill me when I leave this place, are you?"

The silver haired Queen sat back down, looking offended. "I don't play dirty like some people do. I'll allow you to leave, this time of course. If you ever return, however, I won't hesitate to have you killed."

The red headed leader sighed once again. What was he suppose to tell everyone? He'd already declined Dragonspyre's aid. If he asked for it back, Liam would probably rub it in his face. Not to mention he'd probably hear insults from Aurora as well. She really seemed pissed when he had seen her last. He could, perhaps, speak to Mooshu and ask them for aid. Sakurazaki was a gentle soul and she definitely didn't like war, but she had told him if he ever needed aid, he could ask her.

James looked to Molly and saw the frown on her face. She was sending him a silent apology, which he accepted by giving a small smile. Lindsey had already taken off, probably going back to doing her regular duties. Caitlin had also left, Brynne tagging along after her. James guessed that was his queue to leave so he turned and headed for the castle doors. Molly followed after him.

"I'm really sorry about all this," she offered.

"Nah, it's okay. At least I kind of tried, though she didn't give me a chance to argue at all." James said, pulling open one of the gold rimmed doors.

Molly frowned as a new thought crossed her mind. James noticed her frown. "What's wrong?"

"What are you going to do?"

He looked confused by this question. "I mean, since she said war is going to happen anyway, what are you going to do about it?" She explained.

James thought for a moment before shrugging. "I was kind of thinking that I should ask Sakurazaki for help."

It was Molly's turn to look confused. She had no idea who Sakurazaki even was, James remembered. "I forgot, Avalon didn't hear about it. Mooshu has a new Empress. She's probably one of the nicest Emperor's they've had in a long time."

Molly nodded, taking in the information. "I see. Caitlin hasn't been interested much in the other worlds except yours. Still, I'm surprised we haven't heard."

"Well, every world knows except this one. It's like you guys cut yourselves off from the rest of us." James said.

Molly chuckled at this, finding it rather amusing. "It's not like we did it because we hate everyone else. It's just, we don't trust many of the worlds these days. Most of them either hate us, or just strongly dislike us. The exceptions being Azteca and Celestia."

James found that Avalon's alliance with Azteca was odd. Azteca wasn't the most friendly of worlds. Most of the citizens in the place are friendly but they are forbidden by their leader to speak to outsiders. It was odd that Ehecatl would help Caitlin with a war. Maybe he found a benefit in it. Both worlds absolutely despised Wizard City.

"You'd better get going before Caitlin changes her mind. She may not fight dirty but she sure doesn't fight fair, either." Molly warned, breaking him out of his thoughts. James nodded, taking the warning seriously, knowing that she wasn't lying.

James began to walk out the door before Molly stopped him one last time. "I know you turned down Dragonspyre but I believe they could be your best ally in the war. Don't refuse their help."

To this, he turned around and stared at her before nodding and leaving.

**Break**

"That insufferable ingrate! I can't believe he just comes here and thinks he can stop this whole thing with useless babble." Caitlin growled as she sat herself down on her bed.

Brynne stayed quiet, opting not to say anything that might further anger the Queen. She had to agree though. Talking wouldn't solve anything like this. The war had been decided and there was no way to back out of it now. It wouldn't be long, days at most, before they were at each others throats. Brynne had a feeling this would be a devastating war but the people of Avalon had voted that they do it. Caitlin had once considered trying something different but the people wanted a war. She had no want to disappoint the people so she easily agreed.

"Brynne."

The former wolf scout looked up.

"I have a job for you to do. One that I will regret, I know, but I need it done."

Brynne walked to the Queen and knelt in front of her. "Whatever you'd have me do, I shall get it done."

Caitlin frowned. This job was going to be the start of a blood filled war. Once it happened, Wizard City would have no choice but to fight. It was a high push and a high demand for what she was about to order Brynne to do. Everyone must give something up in their life and Caitlin figured she would give up her morality.

"I need you to kill my nephew."

**Break**

Cheryl hummed quietly to herself as she fixed breakfast for herself and Damian. It was a long night but she was glad it was finally morning. Hopefully James would return today. The sooner, the better. Maybe he was even able to get this whole thing sorted out. Cheryl really didn't want to have to go through a war, especially with her own cousin. Sure, Caitlin wasn't her actual cousin, but they always treated each other as if they were and Cheryl still considered Caitlin her cousin to this day. Sure, she was Queen of her own world now and she hated Wizard City but she still cared for her. She just lost her way and Cheryl felt like she could turn herself back around. "Don't worry, Cat. I'm sure after all this has blown over, I'll have a chance to speak to you again. I'll definitely turn you back around."

The ice witch was broken from her thoughts as she heard laughing in the back yard. Looking out the window, she smiled at the sight. Damian was playing with Seraphyna, riding her around the yard. Her son was really attached to the Unicorn. If he ever wanted to play, it would be with Seraphyna. Cheryl sighed, enjoying the sight until a knock at the door alerted her to someone's presence. Cursing to herself, she headed to the front door, opening it. "Hello?"

Standing in front of her was Sean and Malorn. "Morning, Cheryl."

"Oh," she said. "Morning. What are you two doing here?" Cheryl asked, bidding them to come in.

They both stepped inside while Malorn answered, "We were wondering if James had come back yet."

Cheryl frowned, "So you've heard already?"

"Of course. What kind of information gatherer's would we be if we didn't?" Sean answered back.

"Fair enough. Come to the kitchen, I was just in the middle of fixing breakfast." They followed her as she headed back to finish the food. The two men sat themselves down, chatting between each other. Cheryl tuned them out as she began cooking again.

After a few minutes passed and Sean and Malorn were still chatting, Damian walked into the kitchen. "Mommy, look, look!"

Everyone in the room looked at him. He held up a piece of paper that was in the shape of a Lily flower. Cheryl smiled and bent down so she was eye level with her son. "Where did you get that, sweety?"

The small child smiled. "Seraphyna made me it! She said that she really like's to make origaw...ori...well, it was some fancy word!"

She laughed, "I think you mean 'origami'."

Damian shook his head. "Yeah, that was it!"

The child ceased his smile as he saw two other people in the kitchen. It didn't take long for the smile to return, though. "Uncle Sean! Uncle Mally!"

Malorn hid his face behind his hand as Damian called him by nickname. Sean smirked at his friend's embarrassment. Ever since Damian could talk, he had always called Malorn, 'Mally'. No one had any idea why but they all guessed it was just easier to say. Maybe one day he would stop calling him that. It was just too embarrassing.

"Hi, squirt. How's it going?" Sean greeted, ruffling the kids hair.

"Good! Although, Daddy left and hasn't come back yet," Damian replied, frowning a little.

"Hey, cheer up, kid. I'm sure he'll be back," Malorn said, trying to cheer him up.

Cheryl sighed, silently hoping that Malorn was right.

**End Act III**

Like I said, I'm sorry this was so short. However, a crucial part of the story has been revealed. This story has a bit of my beliefs of our world today in it. The loss of innocence. Kids these days are exposed to such horrid things and are forced to grow up faster than they should. They lose their childhood. Some choose to but others are forced. Damian is the embodiment of innocence in this story. Caitlin's reason for wanting to kill Damian is going to set off the war for sure. How do you think Cheryl is going to react? James?

Anyway, there was a reason I wanted to right this story and it was for that reason. Don't think too much on it though and just enjoy the story. I am not going to say whether Damian lives or dies; that's up for you to decide yourself.

See you all for the next Act! Remember, I still need a Zafaria leader! Even some minor characters are nice. If I don't have one soon, I'll have to just make one up myself. I don't want to keep putting this off.


	5. Act IV

So, it seems this is my most popular story I've made. I guess it's because war stories are so interesting to read. Um, at least for me anyway. Also, I have picked what Damian's fate is going to be. Well, _kind of_, not exactly. Whatever happens, don't hate me for it! It won't be what people were expecting, or maybe you might have seen it coming someway or another, but I hope not! I personally like this idea! Kinda of...

Btw, we finally have a Zafarian leader! Hooray! I was about to give up on waiting. Thank you IronRider!

Well, here we go then. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors you find. They'll always be present, no matter how much I don't want them to be.

_All characters belong to their rightful and respectful owners. I claim no ownership except for my own characters._

–_Caitlin-Silver_

**Act IV**

Brynne didn't know what to think about the order she had been given. She had killed before, yes, but never a child. She'd never had a reason to. It made her feel awful, guilty almost. An order, however, was still an order. She couldn't protest what she was told to do. Brynne wouldn't even try to, either.

The former wolf scout knew what was expected of the Queen by her people. The only way to keep them from bickering with the other worlds of the Spiral or doing something worse was to keep them appeased. Brynne knew Caitlin was stressed out and she was sorry she couldn't offer any sympathy; it wouldn't matter anyway. What could she say that would help?

Brynne sighed as she stood next to the Queen as they overlooked the celebration that played out in front of them. The party was one that happened every year. The occasion? The Queen's birthday. This year's celebration would be especially more happy for the people of Avalon. The war made them cheerful. It sounded so morbid. Of course, the people in the room wouldn't be fighting at all. They wouldn't have to face the reality that is a war. They would be safely tucked in their homes that were located around the castle. They had soldiers to do all the fighting for them. What fear was to come to them?

"Brynne."

The wolf woman looked to her left, seeing the Queen's eyes staring at her. Her light blue eyes felt like they bore straight into her soul as if she could read her mind; hear her every thought. Caitlin's eyes narrowed slightly when she didn't receive an answer. "_Brynne_."

"My apologies," she apologized quickly, once she snapped back to reality. "I was just thinking, is all. What is it you need?"

Caitlin shook her head and said nothing more, not even bothering to answer back. Brynne felt a little offended but she said nothing more and continued to look on at the party. The music was cheerful, the lights were bright, the guests looked cheerful; it seemed magical to the naked eye. However, the Queen was no fool. She knew _exactly_ why everyone was so cheerful. Sure it was her birthday but that was only a minor thing in their eyes. Her people wanted this war; _they craved it_. They wanted the revenge they've so long wished for. A chance to avenge their last Queen whom they had loved so dearly.

"This is all so...ridiculous."

* * *

Cori yawned; it had been such a long morning. Her day first started out with waking the Queen up. It was relatively easy. Eclipse was already awake and getting ready for her meeting with the Zafarian leader: Zathura IronMask. The guy gave Cori the creeps. He _always_ wore a poker face. Not to mention half of his face was covered with a mask. It gave her the chills. Eclipse didn't seem to have a problem with him though. Then again, it was probably because she could mask her emotions so well. Cori knew she didn't like the Zafarian leader as much as the next person but she needed to keep the trade agreement between the worlds so she put up with it. It helped each other's worlds prosper. That was all that mattered.

"Do we really have to go?" Cori asked, her arms behind her head as she followed after Eclipse. The Queen sighed. Her guard had already asked the same question _twice_; it was quite annoying.

"_Yes_, Cori. I've explained to you already that we have to. Now, fetch my horse, please." The black haired woman asked, keeping her voice calm and stable. No matter how annoyed she got, she never seemed to yell or blow her top. Cori wondered how she did it.

"Yeah, yeah, fine."

The desert heat made Cori sweat as she walked to the stables. It didn't house many horses; only five of them. It mostly held camels but Eclipse preferred horses since they were easier to sit on. Plus, they were a lot more friendly; the camels were, for lack of a better word, _jerks_. If you even attempted to ride one, they'd make sure you would fall off. She really hated animals in general, except cats. Cats were the only thing she could really stand but that was only because a bunch of them roamed the pyramid.

"Jeez," she seethed, saddling a horse with one of the Royal horse capes. It was black with a gold trimming and it held the symbol of the Queen on each flank. The black horse stayed silent and waited patiently while Cori finished putting the saddle pad upon it's back and fastening the belt. Once that was securely in place, Cori picked up a studded bridle and placed it gently over the horses head. The bridle lacked a cheek piece, the strap that looped under the horses cheek, and it had no bit. The Royal horses were fully trained and required no bit to steer them; they knew what to do.

"Well, Hebeny*, guess you're ready."

The black mare simply shook it's delicately styled mane. The beads that were woven in the horses few braids shook, threatening to come loose; they stayed in place making Cori thankful. She sighed in relief. The braids were incredibly hard to weave which is why they never fully styled the whole of the mane.

Grabbing the reins, she quickly led the horse back to where Eclipse was. The Queen was already speaking with a few of the Mander citizens; they all seemed to love her and worship the ground the walked on. Ever since she had liberated the Mander race, they treated her as if she were their Goddess or something. It made Eclipse uncomfortable but she simply let them do as they pleased, not wanting to hurt their feelings. After all, the Mander's had gone through quite an ordeal; the Kroks were _awful_ to them. They were treated lower than the sand that they walked upon. It had made Eclipse absolutely _disgusted_. She was glad that she was in power now.

The Manders that were speaking with Eclipse bowed, thanking her for whatever it was she had did. After they were finished, they took off, going about their lives once more. Cori stared for a minute, lost in her thoughts. Hebeny began to push her nose against Cori's shoulder, breaking the girl's thoughts. She patted the horse's nose, silently telling her she was fine, and then began to walk again.

Eclipse heard her guard approaching. It wasn't hard; the sound of her shoes and the horse's hooves shifting around in the sand was quite audible. She let out an internal sigh. Eclipse wasn't really looking forward to the meeting with Zathura. It seemed, she thought, that all the world's were at each other's throats. Or, at the very least, despised one another. The alliances in place between worlds made little difference. Each world held their own beliefs; beliefs that they thought that each of the other world's should carry. Sure, some of the world's weren't like that out right, but they held their beliefs in silence.

Conflict was troublesome. If she could, Eclipse would like an alliance with all worlds. At least a fake friendship would cause each world's citizens some relief. Though, Eclipse knew, Avalon's people were bloodthirsty. There was no calming that bunch and she wouldn't even make such an attempt. She and Caitlin hated each other anyhow. Still, wishing for peace was no crime.

"Here's Hebeny," Cori said, not even caring about the formality of addressing her appropriately. Eclipse didn't really mind it anyway. Formalities were formalities.

"Thank you," Eclipse said gratefully. She mounted quickly and swiftly, not wanting to waste her time. The sooner she got there, the sooner she could return. The meeting was being held in her world so it wouldn't take her too long to get there. The meeting point was about a half hour ride from the pyramid. "Cori."

"Yeah," she responded with uninterest, looking at her nails.

Eclipse stared at her as if what she was going to say was obvious. "You should probably get a horse. Unless you'd rather walk, that is."

... "Right."

* * *

The ride to the meeting point went smoothly enough, as well as the meeting. Zathura had no problems with the changes being made to their treaty. They weren't very big matters, just a few simple adjustments that would work better for both Zafaria and Krokotopia. That was one of the reasons why only four people were present. Bigger groups of people would seem like a threat and a fight between each other was the last thing they needed. It was unusual for a world to be by it's lonesome in times such as these and Zafaria and Krokotopia were all each other had. A fight, especially now, would be foolish.

Eclipse stood up from her seat. "I must thank you, Zathura, for meeting with me."

His expression was completely blank. He nodded to her however, a few strands of his hair falling into his face. "Of course."

His companion stared at the two rulers exchange their goodbye's with an irritated look. If Cori recalled, her name was Nora SkyBreeze and she was a talented ice user. The dense, dry, heat must be getting to her. Ice users hated the heat.

"Zathura," Eclipse stopped him as he turned to mount his horse. He stopped, looking back at her. "I don't know if you're aware or not but Avalon has declared war upon Wizard City."

His eyes flashed with concern before returning to normal. "I see," he spoke calmly.

"I figured you would want to know, at least." Eclipse was referring to his idea of joining in an alliance with Wizard City. James had offered it to him in the past. Zathura had told him he would think on it and he was about to accept but, well, now... It didn't seem like a good option. If he joined the alliance now, Avalon would surely turn it's hatred on his people as well. If Caitlin's people wanted it that way, it would happen.

Zathura spoke, "I am grateful for the information. I must be returning to my home, now."

His companion held his horse in place as he mounted it's saddleless back. Zafarians didn't really believe in saddles or bridles; animals deserved a bit more freedom than some restraining contraption around it's stomach or head. After he was fully in place, Nora walked over to her own horse and quickly mounted it. Once they were both fully mounted and ready, they sped off, a trail of sand being kicked up behind them.

"So," Cori said, breaking the silence that had followed after their departure. Eclipse looked at her. "Ready to head back?"

* * *

Nora hadn't said a word to Zathura at all since they got back. Come to think of it, she hadn't said a word to him at all, today. Usually she was more talkative but he couldn't push her to talk if she didn't want to. The silence did bother him a little, however. He was use to her asking questions, or saying something random that had nothing to do with what they were doing. "Nora."

She looked at him, her dark blue locks shifting as she turned her neck to face his direction. Nora had the most unusual eye color. The dark purple they held unnerved him a little.

After a while of not answering, it seemed that she was waiting for him to say whatever it was he wanted to say. Nothing came from his mouth, however. She didn't wait any longer - it had only been a minute tops - and she began to walk to her home. Her people lived in simple wooden housings. They weren't extravagant; not like they needed to be. Zafarians were modest people who thrived on what they had. They didn't seek out luxuries. It was frowned upon for anyone to do so, save for the tribe leader. That right was held exclusively by Zathura and only him. It made her feel envious.

Nora shook her thoughts away as she entered her humble home. She had used to share the small hut with her younger brother - her brother whom was no longer with her. He had disappeared a long time. Nora gave up looking for him several years ago. He had been thirteen and she had been fifteen at the time. It was ten years ago that he had went missing. The first five years she searched, determined not to give up. The sixth year she had begun to lose hope. The seventh made her hopes diminish even further. Eighth came around and by that time, she barely had any hope left. By the time the ninth year rolled around, she didn't even bother to try anymore. Ten years. Today marked ten years of his disappearance. The anniversary.

The blue haired woman assumed he was dead. Maybe he was alive. Or maybe he had left because he wanted to and simply didn't want to come back. They fought constantly. Nora hated fighting with him though but he simply wouldn't listen to her. Their parents had died when he had barely turned eight. Nora was a little over ten at the time but she raised him all the time. Their fellow villagers had helped them out, of course.

She remembered the last day she saw him - saw him alive.

_Flashback-_

_Nora sighed as she wandered aimlessly through the village. Her brother had taken off again, probably causing more mischief. He always managed to cause trouble at the worst of times. Today was the celebration of the Tribal Leader's son, Zathura. He was turning eighteen today. In two years time he would take over as Tribal Leader. She was worried that her brother would do something stupid again. The villagers could only take so much trouble from him. After all, he and Nora aren't from this tribe or even from Zafaria. They didn't know of their origins, or at least _he_ didn't._

_Nora knew exactly where they were from. They were from Aquila. Aquila wasn't a highly known world; the occupants preferred it that way. Aquila was a land of riches and riches were always sought out by the greedy. A group of people had heard about a large sum of treasure that the capitol of Aquila had stored away and they sought to take it. The thieves were from the far away land of Grizzleheim. The whole conflict initiated a short liven war between to two worlds and that was why Nora and her family fled, coming to the quiet realm of Zafaria. Her family was actually acquainted with the tribe's leader from the distant past._

_Ariston. That was the name of her brother. It meant 'the best'. Her parents wanted him to have a name that was derived from their culture even though they had left their precious home. Nora was barely two when they had left._

_"Well, at least Mother and Father named him correctly; he sure is the best at getting into trouble," she mused to herself quietly as she walked along the dirt roads. "That Ariston," she growled, her thoughts returning back to her brother. "He'd better not cause anymore trouble, or I'll-"_

_It seemed a little too late for that, though. A single scream was all she needed to take off towards the direction the loud pitch noise came from. When she arrived at the scene, she saw Ariston scaring one of the other villagers with a snake he was holding. It hissed in his grip, threatening to bite him. Her brown haired brother was sitting next to his friend, Lia, obviously terrorizing her with it. Nora glared at him. He didn't seem to take notice of her until she came up behind him and smacked his head. "What do you think you're doing?"_

_Ariston dropped the snake in surprise and it slithered off, grateful for the opportunity to escape. Thankfully it didn't bite him. "What the..." he trailed off, turning his head around. "Sis? What are you doing here?"_

_"I should be asking you that question. I asked you to help me with the errand that the Tribal Leader asked me to do." It wasn't a difficult task, really. She just had to go out towards the edge of their territory and find some special fruit for the celebration tonight. It only grew in a certain place and she had asked Ariston to tag along with her for company. He agreed though he wasn't really listening when she had asked._

_"Oh," he said, sounding bored. "That. Yeah, I remember. I don't really feel like it anymore so you can go without me."_

_His friend gaped at his blunt disrespect. "Ariston! You shouldn't be so rude to your sister!"_

_He rolled his eyes. He really didn't care. It's not like Nora really needed him, anyway. God, she was such a bother to him, always telling him what to do and what not to do. His sister was _such_ a pain. Sometimes he wished she would just go away and leave him alone forever. Nora always had something to lecture at him. Ariston just wanted his freedom; freedom to do what he pleased, when he pleased, and however he pleased. He didn't seem to notice the flash of hurt that went through her eyes._

_"Please, Ariston? I only asked because I want to spend some time with you. You're hardly ever around, you're always gone doing something, and I never get the chance to speak or visit with you, anymore." Nora said quietly, her tone sorrowful. He felt guilty, almost. Almost._

_He sighed, feeling annoyed. "Sorry, sis, not my problem. If you want to see me then why don't you ever come looking for me?" The answer was obvious, he knew. He just didn't know what else to say to her._

_"You know why, Ariston. I'm always doing my fair share around here for the village because they gave us our house and the food we eat. I don't have much time these days but you could at least try and help out too-"_

_"Please, sis, shut up. I don't really care about doing things for this village. The first chance I get to leave, I'm taking it. I want nothing to do with this place and I certainly don't want anything to do with _you_. All you ever do is nag me, irritate me,_ annoy_ me_,_ whatever you can do to piss me off. I_ hate _you._"

_Lia let out a gasp of pure shock and Nora stared at him, his words stinging more than she would have imagined them too. Without realizing it, tears were already flowing down her cheeks. She bit her lip, trying her best to hold back her sob. It didn't help and a sob escaped. Ariston looked back up and his sudden anger was gone as he looked at his crying sister's face. "Nora..."_

_She said nothing as she looked at his guilty face. He looked like he was trying to apologize but no words came. She took this chance to run. She ran away from her brother. Nora ignored his pleas and cries for her to return, that he was sorry and that he didn't mean what he said. But she kept running and she never looked back._

_End Flashback-_

That was the last she had seen of him. He never did return that night. Nora felt responsible, like it was her fault he was gone. Maybe he really did hate her guts and wanted to get away. The mere thought of that made her sick but he had admitted it himself. Ariston _hated_ her.

* * *

It was finally time. Brynne was ready to get this job over and done with. She wanted nothing more than to just get this over with and never think of it again.

Brynne was sitting outside of James's and Cheryl's house, watching Cheryl and Damian play outside in the back. Her heart drummed in her chest. She felt nervous. The little boy was so _young_. She held no desire to kill such an innocence. She had to do it though, _she had to_. It was an order and an order cannot be disobeyed no matter how irrational or unmoral they were. Caitlin ordered it herself, for Brynne to kill Damian. _Why did he have to be but a child?_ Brynne thought to herself as she gazed upon the seemingly unaware family.

Damian was currently riding around the back of their house on a Unicorn while Cheryl looked on, smiling to herself. He shouted something to her that made her laugh. It made Brynne's heart sink. She couldn't imagine what her face would look like after she claimed the life of her son. The important thing here was that she did get angry and upset for the terrible act that was to come. It was the whole point Caitlin ordered such an atrocious act. They needed _something_ to spur the war. This seemed like the perfect action to get it flowing.

Still, she thought, _this is so wrong_.

"Damian! Mommy is going to go inside and fix us some lunch okay? Daddy should be home anytime now, too." The little boy let a "Yay!" escape from his lips as he rode Seraphyna around the back yard. Brynne hadn't really thought about what she would do about the Unicorn that was present. If she recalled, Unicorns could use magic. Not to mention they could talk, which would be incredibly troublesome should she choose to call for help or alert Cheryl, which she would do, obviously. "Man, this is so irritating..." Brynne couldn't help but growl out.

Still, Brynne kept quiet from her perch in the tall and dense tree, watching over the scene that played out in front of her. She would simply have to wait until the perfect opportunity presented itself to her. Who knows how long that could take.

* * *

Damian felt so happy as he rode around on Seraphyna, blissfully ignorant of the threat that would soon befall him. He giggled as his Unicorn companion used her magic to pull a simply white lily from the garden and hand it to him, the magic fading once it landed in his small palms. "Oh," he said, looking at the flower with awe. Lily flowers were his favorite. Seraphyna obviously knew this. "It's so pretty!" He laughed and Seraphyna joined in his banter.

Everything about today seemed so perfect. Nothing could go wrong. "Young Master."

"Yeah?" He answered back, still looking at the flower that he twirled between his fingers.

"I am going to have to ask you to remove yourself from my back. I'm getting a bit tired and I have to go speak with Lady Cheryl for a moment about something." The Unicorn said, bending down far enough so he could get off safely. He did as she asked and she thanked him. "I'll be right back so be careful."

He gave her a funny look. "Be careful? Silly, I can't hurt myself out here! It's our back yard and it's as safe as safe can be!" Damian beamed at her. Seraphyna simply smiled in agreement and took off, trotting towards the house's kitchen window. The Unicorn and Cheryl had recently been discussing baby names the past few days. It was something that they passed the time doing for the heck of it.

Damian hummed a tune that his mother sang to him sometimes as he looked through the flowers in their garden. There was all sorts of flowers to be found. True, Cheryl wasn't a Theurgist, but she loved to garden anyway. Sometimes, she managed to accidentally freeze a flower or two when her emotions got the best of her. Seraphyna always had to unfreeze the flower.

Before Damian knew it, he vision went black. He tried to cry out as a pair of arms grabbed him but no voice came. He was too shocked to utter a sound. The little boy struggled against the sudden intrusion into his personal space, trying to get out of the strong grip that held onto him. It didn't work but he kept up, kicking, thrashing, biting, whatever he could do. A hand clamped around his mouth so he couldn't scream and he attempted to bite it but he couldn't do it. Fear was quickly taking over the young child and he went limp, unknowing of what he should do.

* * *

The opportunity finally presented itself when the Unicorn had left the child near the flower garden and went to talk to Cheryl. This was the perfect chance to kill the child. She swept down, jumping after the child who was so close. Brynne hesitated as she drew nearer, the blade in her hand began to shake slightly. She had to do this so why was she beginning to get cold feet _now_? Brynne heard the chatter of Cheryl and Seraphyna and grew nervous. She didn't have too much time. Luckily, the house was angled off from this particular part of the garden, so they didn't see her. _Yet._

She had to get this done and fast. It was now or never. She raised the blade of her dagger once more, preparing to end his life, when she halted once more. _Dammit!_ She couldn't do it. She couldn't kill this perfectly innocent child. So, she did the next best thing. Brynne took him, restrained him, and left.

* * *

"Maybe," Cheryl agreed, taking Seraphyna's name to heart.

The blue haired witch had finally managed to finish lunch. True, she would have been done sooner, but she was distracted by her and Seraphyna's conversation. She was just too excited. There was still several months until the baby was actually due but she was still excited all the same. Of course, she didn't really miss the pain that came with it...

"I believe it would make a rather fine name, personally," Seraphyna said, her smile still in place.

"I'll run it by James and see what he thinks but if it turns out to be a girl, I am definitely going with that name." Cheryl thought of her husband, wondering if he had had any luck with his cousin. If she could take a guess it would be a 'no'. It wasn't an easy task to get her to change her mind. Once she was dead set on something that was the end of it. This made Cheryl frown as she cut Damian's sandwich into half. This would mean that they would go to war. Of course, from the moment she heard of Caitlin's claim of war, she knew that it would end up happening one way or another. There was no changing Caitlin' mind and that was final. She just wished James could see that.

"Something the matter, Lady Cheryl?" It irritated Cheryl how Seraphyna always referred to her with the title of 'Lady' but she had given up trying to stop it ages ago.

"No, not really. Just thinking about the whole war situation we're in. It's terrifies me, especially since I have a kid and another one on the way." She grimaced at this. "I don't want him and my unborn child to go through something like this."

Seraphyna nodded, understanding where she was coming from. The mention of the war terrified her as well. However, Seraphyna was no stranger to battle. She had participated in many before but nothing such as a full blown war. "I can understand your fears. However, we have been through battles before. Just think of it as a long lasting battle instead of the usual short ones we've been through."

Cheryl knew what she was referring to. Back when Cheryl was younger, she had participated in battles with Seraphyna. Of course, Cheryl never let Seraphyna participate unless she was fully armored. She didn't want her faithful friend to be stabbed or something in the affair. The only real horrid battle they had experienced together was when the Ninja Pig Clan decided they couldn't stand Sakurazaki's reign over Mooshu as Empress and they had targeted the town that surrounded the Jade Palace. James took immediate action and he and Cheryl rushed to Mooshu to give aid, fending off the threat. It was a difficult battle, really, but at least the Ninja Pigs finally gave up, admitting defeat.

"I believe I'll go and check on Damian while you continue with your lunch preparations." Cheryl nodded at Seraphyna, smiling while thanking her.

Cheryl continued to finish her preparations while she waited. She poured a few glasses of juice, apple specifically. It was Damian's favorite and Cheryl couldn't deny that she loved the taste of it as well. She smiled at this thought. She really loved her son.

"Cheryl!" She dropped the glasses of juice in surprise. They shattered upon contact with the floor, making Cheryl curse at herself for such a silly mistake. It wasn't much trouble, though. She flicked her wand, repairing the glasses. "Cheryl!"

"What is it, Seraphyna?" Cheryl said, as she laid out their lunch on the kitchen table so they could eat. "Did you bring Damian with you?"

Seraphyna panted a few times, catching her breathe. Once she was finished, she looked at Cheryl with a terrified expression. "That's just it, Lady Cheryl! I can't find the Young Master! He's _gone_!"

**End Act IV**

Finally! Oh my goodness. I feel tired. At least I finished this chapter. I kind of felt awful while writing this though. Poor little Damian - and Nora too! Oh my gosh, Ariston is such a jerk to her. He does feel terrible about it. Do you think he's alive? Baha, of course he is. Pretty obvious, I should say. Do you think Brynne is going to end up killing poor, innocent, little Damian? Maybe...I haven't actually decided that. In fact, I'm going to put up a poll and let you all decide. It can really go either way, now, since he's been kidnapped. Cheryl and James will still be pissed either way.

*Hebeny means Ebony in Egyptian. Just so we're clear, haha.

So go vote on the poll! Now!

–Caitlin-Silver


	6. Act V

I don't think I really have anything to say this time except thank you for the reviews! Honestly, when I started this story, I didn't expect to actually make it to even five reviews... Yet here I am with eight-teen! It isn't a lot but it's more than what I had hoped for. I'm surprised people still read this. My goal is to hit ten chapters on this story. I feel I can probably do it. Do you?

Okay, so this next question of mine is completely off topic; how many of you know the anime Wolf's Rain? I kind of want to do a oneshot for it but I am having trouble getting inspiration. It's hard for me to get inspiration for this story anymore. I already know how it ends but it's difficult getting to that point is all.

I hope you guys like this chapter because I typed it up in my Government class. We had a substitute and this class is computer based. So, I had an hour and a half of free time since she absolutely did nothing. Best class ever! Don't be mad at me since it seems rushed. I'll go back and add stuff later, maybe.

_All characters belong to their rightful and respectful owners. I claim no ownership except for my own characters._

–_Caitlin-Silver_

* * *

Cheryl stared at Seraphyna, letting the words sink in. After a few minutes of endless, perpetual, silence, she let an awkward laugh escape her lips. "Ehe, is this another one of you and Damian's little games?"

"Of course not!" The Unicorn said, her words laced with a slight anger. Cheryl flinched at the tone. She wasn't at all used to Seraphyna being mad at her. After all, Seraphyna never had anything to be mad at her for. But, what she said just didn't make sense. Damian was happily playing in the garden up until only moments ago. How could he just wander off?

"What," Cheryl started, hesitantly. "What do you mean he's _gone_?"

A glowing aura emanated from Seraphyna's horn, showing her obvious discomfort and anger. "It means exactly that. I walked back to where I left him and he was no where in sight. I tried checking the perimeter of the outside of the garden fence, scanning the area for anything suspicious but... I found nothing. He's just _gone_."

If Cheryl was any regular mother, she could probably start sobbing uncontrollably. That's just it, though, she isn't a regular mother. Before she went into panic mode, she would search everywhere she could. There was this sinking suspicion that this wasn't just a natural disappearance of a child wandering off. There was definitely something more at play here. "Seraphyna," she said, walking into the living room. The Unicorn walked into the house, albeit uncomfortable. She wasn't use to coming into the house.

"We need to find Malorn, Sean, and Nolan." Seraphyna nodded, walking out the front of the house with Cheryl. The blue haired ice witch threw a dark blue cape over her, lined with a white diamond pattern along the edges. It was a little hot out today and the cape, embedded with ice magic, would help keep her a little cooler without her having to use any of her magic. It was exhausting to expel unnecessary energy, after all.

Cheryl wasted no time jumping onto Seraphyna's back. "I believe the three are usually hanging around the shopping district. You know how Nolan is a womanizer..."

Seraphyna shot a glare at nothing in particular. True, Nolan was a womanizer. She really didn't like that man but he was quite helpful when he wanted to be. _Only_ if he wanted to be. "I suppose we shall check there first, then?"

The witch nodded, "Yes. If we're lucky, Malorn and Sean will be with him."

"Understood, Lady Cheryl." Seraphyna took off, swift and fast. She was quite concerned with the young master's well being. They had never lost him before and given the circumstances in the war, this wasn't at all a natural case of a child just leaving on his own. There was definitely foul play involved.

"I have a feeling this might be Caitlin's doing, Seraphyna." It was hard to make out what Cheryl had said against the wind that worked against them, but Seraphyna had caught it nonetheless. Cheryl had spoken their inner minds own thoughts, making them ring out. It wouldn't be a shock to her in the least if that was what was going on. In fact, she sort of expected some sort of thing to happen sooner or later. Caitlin always gave some kind of warning to show her seriousness and that letter she sent wasn't it.

Caitlin was a drastic person. She would do anything necessary to show she meant what she had said and if that meant taking her own nephew then so be it; she would do it. She would probably kill him even.

"If your cousin did indeed take the young master," Seraphyna said in between breaths. "What will you do?"

Cheryl grit her teeth as she hung tight onto the Unicorn's flowing mane. "What do you think?" she growled out. "I'll get him back; to hell with her being my cousin."

* * *

James' feet felt sore as he continued walking through Wizard City. He had finally returned and was eager to return home and see his family. Of course, he would also be bringing the bad news that Cheryl had been dreading. They would be going to war and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

He bit the inside of his cheek, feeling the sting of the flesh being pierced. He had failed in convincing Caitlin; hell, he didn't even get the chance before he was shot down. Not to mention she had threaten to kill him if he ever returned to try and change her mind again. What was he going to do now, then? Go to war? He shook his head. No, he thought, Wizard City can't. There weren't many fighters or people trained in fighting at all. This was a peaceful society and many had abandoned their ways in magic. Sure, they still used it, but not for dueling purposes. No one had a need to.

"Cheryl's gonna kill me," he drawled out, mumbling quietly to himself. James' eyes were slanted with tiredness. "Damn her."

If Caitlin could just swallow her damn pride, none of this would be going on. Not to mention he'd have to get Dragonspyre to give their aid, even though it was already offered. He really shouldn't have shot Aurora down like that. What she had spoken was true without a doubt and he had known it at the time. He was just too drowned in his own beliefs that he could set everything straight that he had completely ignored the reason that called out to him.

Rubbing his scalp, James looked around at the town; it was bustling with people as usual. Thankfully, his people hadn't heard the news at all yet. Aurora probably could have come with a big flashy entourage behind her, declaring the war, but she hadn't. James felt thankful for such an act, even though it wouldn't really matter now. He'd have to tell the people sooner or later and most likely they would be upset with him for hiding it. Hell, he'd be pissed at himself for hiding something such as this.

"James!"

Looking to his left, James saw Cheryl atop Seraphyna galloping swiftly towards him. She looked panicked and worried. "Cheryl?"

"James!" she spoke once again. "Damian has gone missing!"

Time slowed for him as he stared into his wife's blue eyes. What had she just said? Everything seemed to go blank, the sounds of the town drowning out like it wasn't even there. "What did you say?"

Cheryl's eyes hardened in their gaze and she frowned at him. Her silence told him that he hadn't heard her wrong in anyway. Damian was missing? But, that made no sense. How could he go missing? Who would take him, if someone had? Did he wander off by himself? Was this just some kind of sick _joke_? "You're lying."

She growled at him in response. "_Lying_? What the _hell_ kind of reason could I have for _lying_ about something like this, James? Do you really think me that shallow?"_  
_

Her words seem to smack at him, waking him up from his temporary daze. No, she was right. What reason could she possibly have for lying at a time like this? Besides, Cheryl hated playing tricks on another; it was something she never thought was funny in the least. But wait, he paused. Why would Damian be missing in the first place? He never wandered off on his own; Cheryl always made sure of that, teaching him about the dangers. Not to mention that everyone around them knew Damian and it was highly unlikely that anyone would steal him. What good would come of that, anyway?

"Caitlin."

He stopped his thoughts, hearing the name process in the make believe cogs turning inside his brain. _Of course_, he thought to himself. _Caitlin_. Caitlin would have definitely done something like this. That was all the more reason to worry, though. James knew that she wouldn't hesitate to do something to him, kill him even. "We need to find Sean, Malorn, and Nolan."

Cheryl smirked at him. "Already ahead of you on that. Get on."

* * *

Aurora glared as she walked through the Dragonspyre Academy. She had finally finished today's training session with the new recruits. She had to admit that they were better than last years but still not up to her standard. "I hate my job."

It was ironic to her really. She had wanted so badly for this position in the past; ached for it. She wanted to prove to the sexist bastards around here that women could lead efficiently just as well as men could. The only thing she seemed to show though, was that women were a creature to be feared around here. That was the only reason that she and Krystal were the only female army members. It was a slap to her pride but she put up with it for Liam. All because of _him_.

She had no idea why she still followed that ignorant man. She hated him, didn't she? Of course she did! That man was a wretched existence in her life–one she couldn't shake off. One she didn't even try to shake off. That was what puzzled her the most, though. She never showed any resistance to him and she absolutely hated herself for it. "God, what's wrong with me?" she seethed.

"That bastard. I swear, one day I will kill him." It was an audible promise to herself. Something she would keep to herself and never tell anyone. Not even to Max. She didn't really care for him much anyway, they weren't even actually _related. _She simply found him one day as a child. An abandoned child like herself; someone she took pity on. He just happened to have white hair like herself. Who knows, though. Maybe he was related to her. They could have been long lost siblings, but he didn't need to know that. She was his sister and that was enough for him.

Aurora wasn't the emotional type; it just wasn't her thing. She would tell Max, eventually, of her plans to leave Dragonspyre. It would be up to him to decide if he wanted to come along or not. He seemed to be getting close to Krystal all the more and it disgusted her. It was an oddity that she wasn't really use to. His one time love that he had had, died. She was drained of her life by a spider. A damn spider, of all things. It absolutely sickened Aurora at the thought. She was easily tricked by it and she knew it. The silver haired commander always had a feeling that Max despised her for it, still.

"I don't care if he does; I hate him as well," she spoke quietly.

"Hate who?"

The sudden voice startled her. Aurora flipped her head around to see Max standing there, one eye lifted suspiciously. She looked away, glaring once more. "No one, don't worry about it."

Max frowned, watching her walk away. Aurora was always distancing herself from others. It didn't sit well with him. He knew what she was like; she hated being around people. No, that wasn't it. She was afraid of people hating _her_. People throughout all of Dragonspyre feared her violent ways even though most of them were just idle rumors. Still, she was feared and it made her feel like she had to isolate herself from others. It made him feel bad.

Max also knew of her feelings towards him even though he would never let on that he knew. She had a loathing for him and he knew why. It was because he had exploded on her when Daniella died. It was true; he blamed her for her death and he felt foolish for her. He hadn't heard about what she went through, trying to protect her. He never did get the chance to apologize. Or rather, he never had the guts to. Aurora would probably just shrug off his apology or not accept it all together. He wouldn't be surprised; it was so like her. Fearless sister Aurora that never listened to anyone except Liam.

"You know I don't blame you right?"

She paused in her tracks abruptly, the buckles on her overcoat rustling in her impeded stop. "I don't need your lies, Max." She continued on, not saying anything else.

He clenched his teeth together. "It isn't a lie." Max quickly sped up to her, gripping her arm. "Look, I know you hate me and all, but I wasn't lying. I know you still blame yourself and you need to stop it. You're my sister and you're important to me so stop acting so selfish all the time. Krystal has been worrying over you for days now and frankly, I'm getting tired of it myself."

Her eyes widened at his abrupt confession. It didn't take long for them to harden again and she yanked her hand out of his. "I'm not your sister. You're not my brother. I don't care if you blame me or not, the only thing that matters to me is Liam. That's what I'm here for, right? To do his bidding?" She growled, "Never speak to me again."

Max said nothing as she ran off. His arm was still outstretched. He was in shock. Had she just confessed? No, she just felt of herself as a lapdog. "That idiot."

More importantly, had she just said he wasn't her brother? What did that mean?

He shook his head. "She's definitely losing it."

He should probably go after her, he thought. She was the only person he had left in the world. Their parents were dead and he didn't feel close to anyone in Dragonspyre, despite living here for ten years. It was a little sad but he was scared to open up to people. He never trusted anyone, especially after Avery had double-crossed him and his sister. Because of that man, he and her had almost died. Sometimes he wondered if everything would have been better if they had died. Aurora wouldn't be living a life of misery and solitude and he wouldn't be on the other end of her hatred. He would never admit it but he loved his sister dearly. She was the only person he had left even though he tried to tell himself otherwise.

Max wished he could hate her. Things would be so much better for him. He wouldn't have to worry or fuss over her. He didn't do much of that now; well, not openly. She'd probably call him crazy or something and try to kill him. Aurora just wasn't use to affection. It wasn't something she was well acquainted with. She had grown up taking care of him and he wanted to return that favor. _If only she would give him the chance_.

* * *

She was back again, he silently told himself.

Aurora entered the hall as casually as she always did. Though, there was an air about her that seemed off. She seemed like she was upset; angry. "Something wrong?"

"No," she answered, sitting herself beside him.

He smirked into his hands. "You're a bad liar."

"Speak for yourself, petty King." Her sharp words seem to hit home as he frowned at her. "You don't have to be rude, Aurora."

"I was simply speaking my mind." Her tone was blunt.

"No, you were just speaking for your facade."

She paused, taking in his words. What was he getting at? Did he somehow see through her outer display? He was a sharp person, she'd admit that much about him. Though, she didn't expect him to say anything about it. What did it matter to him, anyway? Her life wasn't his business but he sure as hell treated it like it was. She was just another lapdog for him to play with, anyway. She hated it but her strong sense of loyalty to him as King pulled her back from doing anything. It was something that annoyed her greatly. "I don't know what you're talking about." She would deny such an accusation against her. It was just in her nature to do so.

Without warning, he pulled her into his lap and forced her to look at him. "Like I said, you're a bad liar. Why must you lie to me?"

She couldn't hide the redness that made itself present upon her face but she glared nonetheless. "Let me go; I don't have to explain anything to you."

"But I'm your King, aren't I?" He shot back towards her.

She grit her teeth. "I couldn't give two shits about that!"

He smiled, looking off somewhere else, his blonde hair covering his violet eyes. He was beautiful to look at, she'd admit, but that wasn't the point right now. He was harassing her and she'd kick his ass for it, King or not. Aurora struggled in his hold but it only seemed to make him grip her tighter.

"If that were true," he turned back to her. "Why do you still continue to follow everything I say?"

Her struggling stopped. It was a question that she didn't have the answer to. It was the question she herself had been asking for so long. She had no idea why she continued to do everything he said. She hated the man with a passion that burned so hot. Why did she continue to do everything that he asked? It was a mystery to her. "I don't know." She answered as honestly as she could. She really _didn't_ know, so what else could she say?

"Really?" he said slowly, intrigued. Maybe she didn't exactly realize herself what she felt; he didn't either at first.

"Yes," she growled once more. "I don't know. Now let me go!"

He was a lot stronger than she had given him credit for. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said he was trained in fighting and the likes. "I don't want to let you go so you'll sit here until I say otherwise."

The order seemed to sink in and she stilled. What was he doing to her? No matter what he said, she obeyed. _Why?_, she screamed at herself. _Move, damn you!_ Her body didn't budge. Liam noticed this and it made his sly smile grow. _That cocky bastard_, she thought to herself. Even with these thoughts, however, she did not move. She simply stared into his purple depths, captivated by them.

Realization seemed to hit her. She was attracted to him? It wasn't her fault, she told herself. He was just a beautiful man that she couldn't help but admire, even though she told herself she despised his very being.

"You know I like you, Aurora, right?"

The words caught her off guard. Her blush deepened and she stuttered, at a complete loss for words. "Y-you... What are you t-talking about? This isn't the time for silly games, L-Liam!"

She actually said his name. It felt somehow nostalgic to hear the name drop from her lips.

Liam moved his face close to hers until their noses were touching. "It's no game. I know this is an odd time to be telling you something like this but I feel if I don't do it now, I won't get the chance. You're drifting off from me, even though you obey everything I say. You're growing distant emotionally and I don't like it."

His confession seemed to stop time for her. Was he telling the truth? She didn't know; she didn't care. She needed someone right now and even if it was the man she hated; _no_, the man she had secretly liked, it would be enough for her.

Taking her hands and cupping his face, she covered his lips with her own.

**End Act V**

FINALLY. Dear lord, you have no idea how long I've waited to write that. Are you surprised she totally initiated that kiss? I am too, to be honest. I was going to make him be the one but it seemed more fitting to make her the one to do it.

So, anyway, shorter chapter than the previous ones, hope that's okay. I couldn't feel the desire to write more after that kiss there. It seemed wrong for me.

Oh, and a little note for you guys; I drew Aurora a reference sheet. If you want to see it, go to my Deviantart page. My user is Caitlin-Silver. It use to be Luna-ChiChi but I changed it recently.

–_Caitlin-Silver_


End file.
